Rubin striker Aleksandr Bukharov
If he elects to go, there are four clubs rumored to have interest.
His most likely destination is said to be Germany, where current Stuttgart (and former Zenit) striker Pavel Progrebnyak may have opened a door to the league. Two teams near the top of the Bundesliga, Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV, are rumored to have interest. With an expected transfer fee of €12 million, the out-of-Europe Werder would be hard-pressed to meet the evaluation despite recent sales and strong revenue streams. The Hamburg rumor also deserves some skepticism, given their recent purchase of Swedish U-21 star Marcus Berg to go with established attacking options Mladen Petrić and Paolo Guerrero, though the lanky Bukharov would provide a unique option.
Sevilla FC (Spain) is also rumored to have interest, though that is undoubtedly predicated on whether Brazilian Luis Fabiano stays. If Bukharov moves to Sevilla in January, that would be a huge hint that Fabiano will be sold, Álvaro Negredo could be back on this way to Real Madrid, or both. Bukharov’s game would be very good in Sevilla’s system, but the club is deep enough at striker that Bukharov would only be pursued if another attacker was set to leave.
The final team mentioned in Genoa CFC (Italy). Genoa finished a strong fifth in last season’s Italian Seria A but has been unable to reach the same heights early this season. Part of that is a lack of strikers. If Bukharov were acquired, he would immediately become their best player up-top. While that hints Genoa is the most logical destination, it is unclear how good a fit the Italian game is for Bukharov. Additionally, in a league where teams are struggling financially, Genoa is no exception. The club spent this offseason but only as a result of their sales of Thiago Motta and Diego Milito to Internazionale Milano. Genoa may need to sell again before spending on a player like Bukharov.
Once again, Dinamo Moskva are at the forefront of transfer rumors internal to Russia. Bukharov’s name has been mentioned the last couple of days as a possible candidate for a move to Dinamo, who continue to be the Russian club that many expect to be the most active on the market this winter. Apparently acquiring Bukharov does not depend on whether Kerzhakov stays put–as Dinamo officials have claimed there is room and, just as importantly, finances available for both of them.
This news comes at the same time that Alexandru Epureanu, a midfielder currently with FK Moskva, is also on their radar, as well as the winger Deividas Česnauskis, who is formerly of Lokomotiv Moskva and now plays in the Greek Super League with Ergotelis. Couple this with previous reports of Dinamo’s interest in Igor Semshov and Aleksandr Ryazantsev, and it appears Dinamo’s new director of sports Konstantin Sarsania (former manager of FK Khimiki) will indeed be very busy for the next couple of months.