Tiknizyan was not satisfied with Zenit’s offer

Danil Krugovoy's decision to become a CSKA footballer hit Zenit hard. In his person, the hegemon lost not only his understudy Douglas dos Santos, but also an important performer with a Russian passport.

The club decided not to delay the search for a replacement for him and tried to acquire one of the best left-backs in the RPL at the moment, Nair Tiknizyan, but failed. According to RT, the St. Petersburg residents did not agree with the Armenian on the terms of the personal contract. He demanded 16 million rubles a month plus raises, and the current champions were ready to pay only 10 million. This is much less than the final offer made earlier to Krugovoi.

Negotiations with the possible transfer of the athlete lasted for several days. First, information appeared about the interest of the blue-white-blues in Tiknizyan. Then it was reported that they were ready to pay Lokomotiv €8 million + €2 million in bonuses for him. He himself, allegedly, could double his salary - up to €1.2 million per year. Even representatives of the clubs confirmed the progress of the negotiations.

According to media reports, on January 25 the parties put an end to it. Muscovites were supposed to receive €7 million excluding bonuses. However, it was not possible to reach a consensus with the performer himself.

Zenit's difficulties do not end there. In Brazil, they believe that Wendel, who was close to leaving Russia last year, could move to Botafogo on a loan with an option to buy. The local publication Globo Esporte claims that the domestic club is not against this option, but head coach Sergei Semak does not intend to let the leader go. However, the chairman of the board of the team, Alexander Medvedev, called this information nonsense.

The fate of two Russian midfielders, who have virtually no practice in the city of Neva, is still unclear. Alexander Kovalenko is supposedly of interest to Spartak, Lokomotiv, Sochi and Dynamo. Alexey Sutormin wants to end up in Rostov.

Ugalde is close to moving to Spartak

Meanwhile, Spartak is close to completing the first deal in 2024. Reputable Italian insider Fabrizio Romano confirmed on social networks that a verbal agreement had been reached between Twente and the red-and-whites on the transfer of Manfred Ugalde. In the near future, a contract for a period of 4.5 years will be signed, and the budget of the Dutch squad will be replenished by €15 million. Previously, they confirmed the receipt of an offer for the striker. In Russia, they named the amount of a possible salary for a newcomer - €2 million.

In his person, Guillermo Abascal will receive a long-awaited reinforcement in the attack line. After all, after the departure of Shamar Nicholson and Balde Keith, the mentor was left with only Alexander Sobolev, if you do not take into account the young Pavel Meleshin. The nimble, fast Costa Rican, with a height of only 173 cm, is capable of both playing at the forefront and paired with a powerful partner in a formation with two forwards.

The deal has its pros and cons. On the one hand, he performed well in the strong championship of the Old World and this season scored 13 points using the goal + pass system (7 + 6). The Latin American compensates for his modest anthropometric data with an excellent scoring instinct. In addition, he has been playing in Europe for several years and has adapted to local football. On the other hand, the athlete is not yet able to boast of good execution and ruins a lot of moments. And the money spent on it seems like too much.

But concerning Quincy Promes, alarming news is coming from the Netherlands for fans of Muscovites. Prosecutors are reportedly seeking a nine-year prison sentence for him in connection with two large quantities of cocaine. Allegedly, he was not just part of a criminal network, but played one of the key roles. Despite the threat of extradition, the legionnaire flew with his partners to training camp in Dubai. Perhaps obtaining UAE resident status in December will help him avoid being sent home.

MLS and the Premier League blocked transactions involving Russian clubs

In the case of Ugalde, the very fact of the transaction with a team representing the so-called “unfriendly country” is also important. Unfortunately, sometimes they don’t want to deal with domestic clubs. For example, Spartak, according to insider Ivan Karpov, could get Antonio Sanabria. The arrival of the Paraguayan national team forward, who scored 12 goals in the last Serie A season, would be a huge event for the RPL. But Torino made it clear that such a transfer is now impossible.

According to The Athletic, the red and white were also interested in Dallas striker Jesus Ferreira and were ready to pay $13 million for him. But MLS opposed the move, citing the risks that US clubs face when contacting domestic ones.

Fulham allegedly found themselves in a similar situation. The Londoners intended to rent John Cordoba from Krasnodar with the right to buy for €8 million. In this situation, the deal was blocked by the Premier League, which does not approve of cooperation with Russian teams. At least, fans of the southerners have reason to be happy that the leading forward did not leave, without whom their chances of winning the championship would have decreased.

Noboa left Russia

If the Colombian remains in Russia for now, then another Latin American, iconic for the RPL, Christian Noboa, left Sochi. At the age of 38, he decided to return to his native Emelek.

“I will remember Russia with nostalgia. I spent and lived very beautiful moments here, won many matches that will go down in history,” Match TV quotes the Ecuadorian.

At the same time, he expressed a desire to return after finishing his career and try himself as a scout or journalist. This is not surprising, because during almost 20 years of being in the country, he managed to become one of his own. The athlete mastered the language perfectly and until 2016 was married to a Russian woman, who bore him two children.

But we might not have had a midfielder if not for the persistence of Kurban Berdyev. The mentor saw talent in the young midfielder and invited him to Rubin. At first, the fans laughed at the newcomer, especially since in his debut match against Rostov he hit his own goal. But gradually the legionnaire became the leader of the Kazan team and made a huge contribution to winning two championships in a row.

Since then, he left the RPL only for six months, when in 2015 he went on loan to PAOK. At Dynamo he was remembered for his conflict with fans and his goal against Spartak in the derby. With Zenit he took the third set of gold medals and received the nickname Little Penguin from Artyom Dzyuba.

In Rostov, having met Berdyev again, the footballer and his partners almost created a loud sensation, taking second place in the table after CSKA. And in the Champions League, the veteran scored a stunning winning goal for Bayern from a free kick. Surprisingly, even in Sochi, being at an advanced age by the standards of professional sports, Noboa played a huge role. He helped Vladimir Fedotov's team win silver, and he himself twice surpassed the mark of ten goals per season in the national championship.

Lokomotiv is looking for a central defender

Meanwhile, Lokomotiv is not abandoning attempts to strengthen the problematic center of defense. And he is looking for strengthening, according to domestic media, in foreign markets. Interest in Gerzino Nyamsi was reported at the beginning of the year. Now the Frenchman seems to have agreed to move to Russia, but the clubs need to come to an agreement among themselves. Muscovites are ready to pay €3.2 million for him, while Strasbourg insists on €6 million.

But the name Joaquim has not previously appeared in relation to railway workers. The Latin American spent two years in a row in the Brazilian Serie A as part of Cuiaba and Santos and was a key performer in both teams. However, the last season ended for the Santos team with relegation to the second strongest division, which could speed up the progress of negotiations. They demand €10 million from Lokomotiv, but are ready for a three-year installment plan.

Finally, Ardian Ismaili will definitely not be in the RPL, since the red-greens, according to insider Nicolo Skira, did not agree to pay € 4 million for him.

Other domestic squads, in conditions where some countries do not want to deal with them, are striving to open new markets for themselves. For example, CSKA announced cooperation with the strongest academy in Iran, KIA Academy. Moreover, based on the results of tests and analysis of performances, the three best athletes will be tested in the army youth team.

Tsarukyan will replace Sevikyan in Nizhny Novgorod

As far as possible, the lineups of the middle peasants and outsiders are strengthened. Thus, Nizhny Novgorod found a replacement for Edgar Sevikyan in the person of Valery Tsarukyan. One of his disadvantages is his lack of experience performing at the elite level. But he showed himself well in the First League. In her previous game, the attacking midfielder scored four goals and assisted his teammates five times. As a result, he received an invitation from “Volgar” to “Alania”, where he also did not get lost. And just six months later, the technical midfielder, who has a subtle last pass, was bought by Nizhny Novgorod for just €100 thousand.

Sochi has seriously updated its roster. Moreover, with the arrival of Roberto Moreno as coach, the southerners are mainly looking for options in Latin America. Following Saul Guarirapa and Alejandro Cabeza, they signed Ignacio Saavedra as a free agent. It can be called a direct replacement for Noboa. The opornik spent his entire career in his native Universidad Catolica, with which he became the champion of Chile four times and won the country's Super Cup three times. He also has several matches for the national team.

Orenburg still rented another Chilean, Jordi Thompson. RT wrote back in early January that the club had almost agreed on his transfer with Colo-Colo. As you know, in his homeland he was charged with attempting to murder his ex-girlfriend. However, with the help of an agent, the young man managed to collect the necessary amount as collateral to defer his sentence for six months. The President of Orenburg residents Vasily Eremyakin promised to take up his upbringing within the specified period.