Adrian Mutu to Zenit St. Petersburg?!
Tuesday proved to be Zenit St. Petersburg’s day, with the club looking to clear house to acquire some big names.
- Zenit to part with the two attackers . . . gain another.
Zenit St. Petersburg has decided not to offer a new contract to 30-year-old Paris St.-Germain loaner Mateja Kežman.
Preferring not to exercise the option to purchase the rights for the Serbian, the St. Petersburg club appears destined to explore their options on the market this winter.
In addition, Zenit has intimated that recent signee Sergei Kornilenko could be on the transfer block. The 26-year-old Belarussian was acquired from Tom Tomsk earlier this year, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract.
Could Kornilenko’s departure be in lieu of Adrian Mutu?
Fiorentina’s Romanian striker has been linked with Luciano Spalletti’s new squad. Mutu’s agent, in a recent interview, was quoted as saying, “Mutu may very well leave Fiorentina. If Zenit . . . will makes us an offer it is quite likely that we would act on it. Mutu currently needs to recover from injury. In January we will see what his options are.”
- Zenit readying a back-line shake up.
Will Spalletti work is his magic and acquire Milan's Kakha Kaladze?
Milan center-back Kakha Kaladze has been so annoyed by Leonardo benching him of late that he could be ready to move to St. Petersburg. Or at least that is what Zenit officials are hoping.
According to MilanNews.it, the Georgian international has been disconcerted over his lack of playing time, but his absence from the pitch last weekend brought his disgust at Leonardo to a new level and may be soon handing in a transfer request.
On Sunday against Palermo Leonardo opted not to play Kaladze despite Thiago Silva not being available, choosing to play Giuseppe Favalli alongside Alessandro Nesta in the middle of Milan’s defense.
Kaladze could leave the Rosseneri, after the better part of a decade, as early as the January transfer window.
Although clubs far and wide—in England, Germany, and Ukraine—have shown interest, Zenit St. Petersburg is considering his acquisition should he be available.
- Celtic looking to pounce.
According to the Glasgow Evening Times, Celtic FC is looking to make a move for Zenit’s Slovak central-defender Tomáš Hubočan. Tony Mowbray is said to have taken a liking to the 24-year-old, who carries a price tag of around €2.25 million.
Hubočan was picked up from MŠK Žilina (Slovakia) by Dick Advocaat, costing Zenit the tidy sum of €3.8 million. In 2009 he played 10 matches with the St. Petersburg club, primarily filling in while Ivica Križanac and Nicolas Lombaerts were both injured.
- CSKA acting like a rental car company.
Daniel Carvalho itching for Brazil
According to the Jornal do Sports, CSKA Moskva may be considering a loan agreement that would send midfielder Daniel Carvalho to newly promoted Vasco da Gama (Brasil).
Carvalho’s contract is set to expire at the end of the year, but is reportedly proposing a plan to renew with CSKA if sent on loan to the Brazilian club for 2010.
Vasco executive director Rodrigo Caetano has commented, “Carvalho is an attractive option, although we have not yet held talks about his transfer.”
Caetano may have reservations, given Vasco’s limited budget, but Carvalho seems ready to leave—if we are to believe his father Albina de Carvalho. Carvalho the elder recently stated that “Daniel wants to spend the coming year in the Campeonato Brasileiro, but if this does not happen he is ready and willing to continue with CSKA.”
Carvalho was on loan once previously in Brazil, at his former club Internacional, in 2008.
In addition, CSKA’s loanee striker Dawid Janczyk, sent to Belgian club KSC Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen last January on a one-year deal, apparently has no intention of returning to Moskva.
Recently the Polish international spoke out on his future plans, “I’ll probably stay with Lokeren for another six months. Extending the loan would the ideal solution for me. I want to stay and help the team, but right now I’m in limbo. I just don’t know what CSKA has planned for me.”
Recently some have speculated that Portsmouth, despite their financial difficulties, may attempt a loan deal. Standard Liege has also shown interest.
€7 million is said to be the fee necessary to unbind Janczyk from CSKA, an amount the striker claims is too steep for any Belgian club.
- Yet another RPL goalkeeper linked with Spurs.
This past Monday, Spartak Moskva goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa arrived in London, with agent Mark Naletilic in toe, to meet with Tottenham Hotspur representatives.
Pletikosa was previously set to sign for Spurs during last summer’s transfer window, but a serious knee injury stopped the deal from being finalized.
The Spurs medical staff still has concerns over the 30-year-old keeper’s health, and have scheduled a physical to assess whether there are any residual complications after the Croatian’s surgery. If the medical tests yield positive results, Naletilic has said that he and his client will place a request with Spartak to have him sent on loan to White Hart Lane.
- Rubin stabilizing squad.
At the same time Rubin Kazan was losing a pivotal component of its squad the club was taking measures to retain other vital components. Sergei Semak and Roman Sharonov have both extended their contracts with the Kazan club. Both have reportedly signed on for another year, with an option to continue with Kazan club after 2010.
- RPL 2010 already anticipated.
The draw for the first week of the 2010 Russian Premier League campaign has been announced, already creating some intrigue. Most notably, there will be the much anticipated derby between Spartak Moskva and Dinamo Moskva, as well as a match up between defending champions Rubin Kazan and the revamped Lokomotiv Moskva.
The season will start on 12 March and will end on 29 November. There will be a seven week hiatus in the summer, however, around the World Cup.
Here is the full set of match ups for the first round (which will also repeat for the final, 30th, round) of the RPL:
CSKA Moskva-Amkar Perm
Anzhi-Spartak Nalchik
FK Moskva-FK Saturn
Rostov-Tom Tomsk
Rubin Kazan-Lokomotiv Moskva
Krylia-Zenit St. Petersburg
Spartak Moskva-Dinamo Moskva
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