CSKA's latest recruit? Andwelé Slory (R) has worn out his welcome in Rotterdam.
Nevermind the uninformative interview Aleksandr Kerzhakov gave to Sport Express while engaged in a personal training regiment in St. Petersburg, waiting to see what his agent can conjure up down in Moskva. We shall briskly pass that by in order to encounter the more revealing news that awaits us in other quarters of Russian football. CSKA continues its search for a striker, Rubin’s latest interest is leaked, and a Bundesliga club looks toward Chechnya for some help in the midfield.
- Slory’s story.
Reports continue to circulate that CSKA Moskva are still on the market for an additional striker even after agreeing to terms with Young Boys’ Seydou Doumbia. Another candidate has emerged today. At least, that is, if we are to believe the ever busy British tabloids.
Today, according to People.co.uk, CSKA has placed its name on the list for Feyenoord hitman Andwelé Slory.
The forward/winger’s agent, Aleksandar Bursac, has also confirmed the interest of England’s Blackburn Rovers. While the Lancashire club has already held talks for the attacker, they have not offered any concrete proposals and appear to fancy Slory more as a free pickup at the end of the season, leaving CSKA at a slight advantage.
The 27-year-old attacker’s contract with Feyenoord expires in the summer and there has been no indication from the club’s front office that they intend to extend the contract beyond that point. Not only is the club desperately attempting to climb out of their financial hole, but–more specific to Slory—they are disgruntled by the striker’s recent spat of disciplinary problems, the most memorable of which was the much publicized kerfuffle with teammate Karim El Ahmadi during the pre-season.
Slory had unquestionable success with SBV Excelsior from 2005 to 2007. In his first year with the Rotterdam club he used his characteristic pace to help the club gain promotion to the Eredivisie, scoring 14 goals during the campaign. Then in the 2006-7 season he proved even more impressive, scoring 13 goals against the tougher top-flight competition. So impressive, as it were, that Slory received a call up from then Netherlands national team coach Marco van Basten, which resulted in two caps during a friendly tour of Asia.
Since joining Feyenoord, however, it has been a different story for the Dutchman. In his first two seasons at De Kuip he only managed 3 goals in 37 appearances. Slory’s 2009-10 season started in promising fashion, but has since cooled off (though the attacker did score in his last outing against ADO Den Haag).
In addition to CSKA and Blackburn Rovers, Panathinaikos FC (Greece) is said to have already faxed in an offer. But if we had to guess, if Slory was left to his own devices he’d opt for a switch to the English Premier League. But CSKA’s recent house cleaning could provide the cash to entice the striker to move east.
- Rubin say, “We don’t need a stinking playmaker, let’s keep building our defense.”
The beloved defender of El Rojo, Carlos Matheu (pictured here with Cagliari), is wanted in Kazan
Rubin Kazan appears interested in Independiente (Argentina) captain Carlos Matheu.
According to Sport Express, the clubs have entered negotiations after the Russian champs reportedly put in a $2.5 million offer. The Argentine side appears to have asked for twice that amount.
However, some consider the move to be likely, as Matheu seems eager to once again test himself in Europe.
The 24-year-old spent part of 2008 and the first half of 2009 with Cagliari (Italy).
This is not the first time Matheu has been linked with an RPL club. In July 2008 he passed a medical examination for Lokomotiv but the contract, in the end, was never signed—with the defender instead choosing to move to Cagliari.
- Inquiring minds want to know, who are these big clubs you speak of?
In addition to things heating up on the transfer market for Rubin, the club is currently negotiating a new contract with Christian Noboa.
In an interview with futbolecuador.com the midfielder expressed his disinterest in signing a proposed four-year deal with Ruby, explaining that he does not wish to stay in Russia for that long. “I want to sign the agreement, but for three years,” said Noboa.
The 24-year-old, who has been with Rubin since 2007, went on to suggest that he could end up leaving the club should his stipulation not be met, saying “Major clubs in Spain, Greece, France, and Belgium have expressed interest. We will have to wait to see how events unfold.”
- Germans flirt with Georgiev
Hannover 96 (Germany) has expressed interest in acquiring Terek Grozny midfielder Blagoy Georgiev.
Multiple Russian sources have cited 24 Chasa (Bulgaria), which ran a story suggesting that the two clubs have already begun negotiations that could see the transfer of the 28-year-old.
A little over a week ago it was also reported that Spartak was interested in signing the all-around midfielder, with Rubin Kazan and CSKA also monitoring the player. Prior to the 2009 season spent with the Grozny side, the Bulgarian played with Slavia Sofia (Bulgaria) and Red Star Belgrade (Serbia).
Georgiev does have experience playing in Germany; back in 2007-08 he featured in 32 matches with MSV Duisburg, scoring two goals.
- Oleksandr almost free of Kiev.
Oleksandr Aliyev headed in the direction of Moskva
Oleksandr Aliyev is one flight away from making his Lokomotiv transfer official.
If you’ve been following the story you will be sure to think it a tad stunted in its development. However, Lokomotiv Moskva appear one step away from closing the transfer deal of Dynamo Kiev midfielder Oleksandr Aliyev. After passing a medical examination in Italy today he is scheduled to fly to Russia to sign his new contract with Railroaders.
In an interview with Soviet Sport, Aliyev revealed, “I traveled to Italy, where I passed a medical examination. As far as the terms of the personal contract with Lokomotiv, I’m satisfied. The team will be going to Moskva on 8 January. Perhaps by that time and I will join the club.”
According to a later Chempionat story, Aliyev will join the Railroaders in Turkey on 11 January.
- Paulista report
Lokomotiv, taking a page from Spartak Moskva’s book, have stepped up their pursuit of Cruzeiro striker Wellington Paulista, according to Soviet Sport.
The 25-year-old former Botafogo player has been the source of much winter transfer speculation, being attached most recently to Lazio—should the Italian club’s plan to acquire Maxi López falter.
- Odemwingie temporarily sidelined
Lokomotiv’s striker Peter Odemwingie injured his leg during a friendly match against the South African club Thanda Royal Zulu in Durban.
The injury is not considered serious, but as a precaution the forward is expected to miss Wednesday’s next friendly against Zambia. Coach Shaibu Amodu anticipates that the forward will be available for Nigeria’s opening Africa Cup of Nations match against Egypt.
“I don’t think it’s a serious injury,” said Odemwingie in an interview with MTN Football. “I only have to rest the leg for another day or so and I will be fine.”
- Zenit asks an unknown midfielder to convince them they need a Norwegian.
Zenit St. Petersburg has invited 21-year-old Norwegian midfielder Marius Henriksen to train with them. The young player is a bit of a mystery man, currently playing with Moss FK in Norway’s second division.
Henriksen will apparently be in St. Petersburg this week to undergo some evaluations, after which the coaching staff will decide whether to offer up a contract, according to the Norwegian club’s website.
Henriksen had previously trained with Zenit and it appears he piqued enough interest to be invited back.
http://goal.com/en/news/553/russia/2010/01/08/1732457/feyenoord-midfielder-jonathan-de-guzman-snubbed-cska-moscow
Are CSKA intent on becoming Feyenoord II? That or the mission is simply just poaching the best Eredivisie offers. Having seen Honda on numerous occasions at both club and international level, I for one am convinced that CSKA have themselves a bargain. Honda just oozes class, and his end-product is so consistent.
Slory, meanwhile, would be a gamble in more than just a disciplinary sense. Although capable of taking up some good attacking positions, he also has a tendency to drift from his station. For a team looking to launch on the counter, this isn’t beneficial. He scored a lovely goal against PSV earlier in the campaign mind. Saying that, I’d fancy my chances against a donkey like Salcido…
Striker wise, an outstanding fit for CSKA from the Eredivisie would be Ricky van Wolfswinkel (Utrecht). A prodigiously talented last-shoulder type striker who really does only need the proverbial sniff.
Martyn. Great comments, as ever.
If Honda was purchased for the figure CSKA has mentioned, €6 million, I too think it was a bargain. The gamble lies, like many of CSKA’s moves, on how quickly and effectively the new players can adapt. Obviously it is too early to tell if he’ll fit in, but CSKA has made an interesting move by bringing in a player that can really offer a different look in midfield–the class that you mention stems from, I think, a patience that will counterbalance the dynamism of Krasić and Dzagoev.
For Honda, you could read in his comments before the move was finalized that his primary objective is to play in Champions League. After showcasing his talent there, he’ll have his sights set on a move back to Western Europe. But he’s not alone in that regard.
From an RPL perspective the move isn’t great simply because he will be the first player from Japan, thus potentially opening the league up for more Japanese talent. But also, given that he could have gone to one of the stronger Eredivisie clubs—granted for less money—he saw Russia, unlike Guzman, as a place to showcase his talent.
Slory, for me as well, is much more of a gamble. While I’m not totally convinced CSKA have a strong desire for the player, I think they saw him as a discounted acquisition. A change for Slory could help him out, as the pressure he seemed to have faced at least early on with Feyenoord kind of stifled him. His erratic nature could also perhaps be a partially attributed to coaching. Maybe Slutsky could have more success disciplining him on the pitch.
Great comment about Ricky van Wolfswinkel, who continues to improve with Utrecht. Most impressive, for me, have been his performances with the U-21 National Team. Not sure what his price tag is. I know Celtic have been interested in him for awhile, but I can imagine him not being cheap.
By the way–I forgot to weave this into the earlier comment–Russian clubs seem to have a thing for undisciplined players. Reports both from yesterday and today in the Russian press have been citing a Turkish article on Fenerbahçe’s bad boy Kazim Kazim. Not sure if people caught this the first time around but he is slated for transfer after organizing sex parties with teammate Andre Dos Santos. [A new story today summarizes it: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=fenerbahce-to-sell-kazim-kazim-and-onder-turaci-2010-01-05
Zenit, Spartak, and FK Moskva are apparently the intrigued clubs.
Oh boy.
I have first-hand experience of Kazim-Kazim (or Colin Kazim Richards as he was more formally known back then) being a twit. About 4 years ago, my home city Cardiff were hosting Brighton & Hove Albion in a Championship league game. Upon opening the score for the away side, Richards – who had only just been put back in the relegation battler’s XI after arguing with manager Mark McGhee – decided to Adebayor-style dart towards the hardcore end of home fans and ’salute’ us with a few choice hand and arm gestures.
Another aside: over here he’s referred to as ‘The Coca Cola Player’. This is because said soft drink company ran a competition in which a winning fan received a several-hundred-thousand pound transfer fee for their club to spend. The lucky guy was a Brighton & Hove supporter, and his club bought Kazim Richards from fourth-tier Bury (£250k). And the rest, as they say, is history!
I hope he signs now because all this background information will seem a tad irrelevant otherwise!
p.s. Sorry to add further non-Russian text to the comment zone, but Celtic are broke: unless they offloaded big-earners like Maloney, Samaras and McGeady, there’s no way they can compete with anyone right now in the transfer market.
Great stuff! My prejudiced mind had already pegged him as a twit, but you’ve provided great first-hand evidence. For the sake of the interested Russian parties, I hope the report was purely the revelry of a Turkish journalist starring at a deadline.
Good point about Celtic, my knowledge of their interest stems from last summer, and even then I should have considered that they always seem to have financial issues. I did notice a couple of pieces about a month ago speculating on their rekindled desire for the man. But its a fair point to make that desire usually isn’t enough to make a deal happen.