Dzhikia expressed a desire to stay at Spartak
One of the main intrigues of this winter in the RPL is the future of Georgy Dzhikia, because the contract with Spartak expires in the summer, and they are in no hurry to renew it. Apparently, to speed up the process, the footballer’s agent Vadim Shpinev gave an interview about what was happening. According to him, at the end of last year the club promised to offer the client a new agreement in January, but this did not happen. Moreover, there was not even a corresponding proposal. This allegedly became clear following a meeting with the new sports director Oleg Malyshev.
Shpinev also spoke about the conversation between the defender and head coach Guillermo Abascal.
“Malyshev himself was also present at it and was very surprised that it became the first personal one for the coach and player. The conversation turned out to be difficult, serious and detailed. Both sides heard many things for the first time. Everyone expressed what they thought about this situation,” the Championship agent quotes.
He also stated that the coach sent the defender to the reserve because he considers him slow.
“In thought and intelligence, Jikia is head and shoulders above its competitors. I don't want to criticize other guys, I don't want to continue the discussion about Alexis Duarte and his regular mistakes. I don’t want to discuss the slow Srdjan Babic, although he is a stately defender and national team player,” added Špinev.
Dzhikia himself, who is usually extremely calm, spoke quite harshly. In particular, he did not rule out that he was not included in the squad for non-sports reasons. But most importantly, he emphasized that he intends to stay on the team and compete for a place on the field.
Shpinev’s speech was not left unanswered by the red-white leadership either. Malyshev assured that he is in a working relationship with the athlete and announced that a decision had been made on further cooperation. But at the same time, he emphasized: agents do not have the right to issue ultimatums and dictate conditions.
Dzhikia himself put an end to the dispute. According to the defender, he is incredibly motivated to prove his necessity to the team.
“We discussed all the topics and spoke out. Therefore, from the day we discussed all the points, everything took the path to act in the interests of Spartak.
What was the conversation with Abascal about? This is an internal conversation, I won’t speak out here,” he said in an interview with Sports.ru.
Meanwhile, Spartak, judging by media reports, intends to strengthen the goalkeeper line, despite the presence of Alexander Maksimenko, Alexander Selikhov and Ilya Svinov. Moreover, it is reported that Muscovites are allegedly interested in CSKA goalkeeper Ilya Pomazun, who plays for Ural on loan. It is noted that the red and white insist on the transfer already in the winter, and the teams are close to an agreement.
However, both the president of the Yekaterinburg team, Grigory Ivanov, and the footballer’s agent, Alexei Safonov, considered this scenario to be almost unrealistic. That is, he will definitely remain with the same team until the summer. Stanislav Agkatsev is called as another option for Abascal's charges, but Krasnodar does not want to let him go.
The ten-time Russian champions are also reported to be interested in Boca Juniors midfielder Ezequiel Fernandez. By the age of 21, the talented midfielder had become indispensable in one of the strongest Argentine squads and last year played 43 matches in all tournaments, including the Copa Libertadores. He also has nine matches for the country's youth team. Hernan Bernan, the agent of the Latin American, who can play both in the supporting zone and a little higher, confirmed the domestic club’s interest in his client and even indicated the ransom amount - €15 million.
Chalov flew off to negotiate with Giner
CSKA faced a similar problem in the winter, which is not yet able to extend the agreement with Fedor Chalov, which expires in the summer. In early February, Muscovites communications director Kirill Breido announced an unprecedented offer to the striker. And a few days later he went to the capital to negotiate with Evgeniy Giner. According to the media, the new contract could be valid until the summer of 2027.
Insider Ivan Karpov revealed the details of the negotiations. According to him, the army team offers their pupil an annual salary of €2.5-3 million, which will automatically make him the highest paid football player in the team. They are also ready to meet him halfway and provide compensation for European clubs - €6 million.
But it all comes down to the signing bonus. The player’s side demands €4 million for the extension of the agreement, part of which will go to his agent Christian Emile. As a compromise, the red-blues offer the athlete to give up the bonus in exchange for 50% of the amount of the future transfer. Zenit is ready to offer similar salary conditions to one of the best scorers in the RPL, but the footballer himself does not intend to go there.
Perhaps CSKA will find a replacement for Chalov in Iran. Local media have already reported that an agreement has been reached with the 17-year-old forward of Sepahan and the country's youth team, Kasra Taheri. But the RT source assured that Muscovites do not need it.
Meanwhile, another capital club Lokomotiv, after the arrival of Zherzino Nyamsi and Said Hamulich, focused on clearing the roster of reservists. Daniil Kulikov was the first to leave the camp of railway workers. Under Marko Nikolic, the young midfielder regularly appeared on the field and even played in the Champions League, but recently he lost his place in the first team and this season he played a total of less than 300 minutes in all competitions. The midfielder is currently training with Rodina from the First League. He will become a free agent in the summer.
Another pupil of the red-greens, who did not make the start, Dmitry Rybchinsky, allegedly did not agree on personal terms with Torpedo. Stanislav Magkeev, who recovered from a second rupture of the cruciate ligaments of the knee, on the contrary, was offered to extend his contract expiring in July last year, but the defender refused. Now it is unclear whether he will remain at the club, like Anton Miranchuk and Rifat Zhemaletdinov, whose agreements are also coming to an end.
Zenit loaned out Sutormin and Do Queiroz
Zenit continues to get rid of deep substitutes. Following Dmitry Chistyakov, Alexey Sutormin went on loan to Sochi. Also, Do Queiroz moved to Gremio on loan until the end of the year with an option to buy. It is unlikely that Sergei Semak will encounter difficulties due to the departure of both. For example, the Brazilian in the RPL was content mainly with substitutions. He only appeared in the lineup twice.
“We gave him the opportunity to get practice, which is necessary for a young performer. We understand how important this is for his progress. As for Lyosha Sutormin, this was his desire. We talked to him back in the summer. But then we did not have the opportunity to let him go. Now we have it, we can handle it,” explained the St. Petersburg coach.
There are still rumors about the departure of other Latin Americans Claudinho and Wendel. Corinthians are allegedly interested in the first, in whose system the midfielder spent several years. But his representative once again emphasized: the athlete will remain in Russia at least until the summer. Wendel was completely late for the second team meeting in Doha by a couple of days. The agent explained the incident as a solution to personal issues. Semak called the midfielder’s attitude to work brilliant.
Krasnodar, which is fighting with Zenit for the championship, does not give up hopes of strengthening the right edge of the attack. According to media reports, the club was close to an agreement with Andrija Zivkovic. PAOK could receive €7.5 million for him, and the footballer himself would receive a three-year contract with an almost doubling of his salary.
And the RPL would have found a strong master in his person, because the winger had previously achieved success with his native Partizan and Benfica. He became the champion of Serbia and Portugal twice, won the Cups of two countries and managed to win a similar trophy with PAOK. He also has U-20 World Cup gold and 42 matches for the senior national team, which is hard to imagine without Zivkovic. Unfortunately, the pregnancy of the athlete’s girlfriend served as an obstacle to the deal.
Sochi added Attiyat-Allah and Cordova to its roster
But the most active work in the transfer market is not carried out by the recognized favorites, but by Sochi, which closes the RPL table. The Southerners do not intend to be relegated to the lower division and are eager to improve the situation under the leadership of Roberto Moreno. To do this, they have already signed ten newcomers.
One of the most important was Yahya Attiyat-Allah. The left-back is regularly called up to the Moroccan national team and was an important part of it at the World Cup in Qatar, where he played six out of seven matches. Moreover, in the quarterfinals with Portugal, he got into the starting lineup and provided an assist to the author of the only goal, Youssef En-Nesyri. From the first minutes he entered the field in the confrontation for bronze with Croatia.
At the same time, the player spent most of his career in his homeland - in Olympic Safi and Wydad, with a short absence in the Greek Volos. With Wydad, he twice climbed to the top step of the podium at the national championship and even won the African Champions League.
Among the Russians, Sutormin joined the Sochi squad, who became the second reservist rented from Zenit until the end of the season after Chistyakov. The footballer’s decision can be understood, because he had almost no practice in St. Petersburg. Since October, he has only come on as a substitute in the RPL once for eight minutes. He received a little more time in the Russian Cup, but was hardly satisfied with it. For an outsider, a versatile player who can cover several positions will definitely come in handy.
“The Sochi management and the head coach were personally interested in Alexey. He went to Sochi to get playing practice, return to the national team and help the club solve its problems,” said the Russian’s agent Alexander Klyuev.
No less significant was the loan of Venezuelan national team striker Sergio Cordova from Alanyaspor. In the current Turkish Super League, he did not shine with performance, scoring only three times, but he has a wealth of experience playing in other countries. In particular, he has almost 100 matches and nine goals in the Bundesliga for Augsburg and Arminia. And before Alanyaspor, he spent a couple of years in the North American MLS and even won the Canada Cup. It is possible that the Latin American will show himself brightly in Russia in the spring.
Rostov did not sign a contract with Glushakov
Akhmat also followed the path of Sochi, inviting another defender from North Africa as a free agent. Nader Gandry played ten matches for the Tunisian national team and, like Attiyat Allah, was a participant in the 2022 World Cup. The Carthaginian Eagles in Qatar were eliminated after the group stage, but the footballer spent all 90 minutes on the field in the victorious confrontation with France.
Most of his career was spent at Club African, with whom he won all possible domestic trophies - the national championship and cup. At the same time, Gundry began his career in football in France and even made his mark in Ligue 2. He also played a lot in Belgium, but mainly in the second strongest local division.
Meanwhile, Rostov did not sign a contract with Denis Glushakov. The midfielder has been at the training camp with the yellow-blues since the beginning of the year, but failed to prove his need to Valery Karpin. Despite this, he thanked the coach for the chance.
“Positive month. First of all, I want to say thank you to Valery Georgievich and the management for agreeing to such an idea - to help my fellow countryman, as they say, get in shape, revive him. Everything went well, I got into perfect shape. The atmosphere in the team is very good. I knew many of the guys and met some. New friends have appeared,” noted the 37-year-old midfielder.