Premier League giants Arsenal and Everton have missed out on Yuri Alberto with Globo Esporte reporting that the Internacional striker has agreed a £17 million move to Zenit St Petersburg.
And here we were thinking that the Alberto saga had come to an end. For the time being at least.
The highly-rated striker took to Instagram in December, seemingly to reassure supporters that he would be sticking around at Internacional for the time being.
Only a few weeks later, he is packing his bags and heading for Russia, swapping one picturesque port for another.
Goodbye to the ‘Joyful Harbour’, hello ‘Venice of the North’.
According to Globo Esporte, Zenit have agreed a £17 million fee with Internacional.
Fiorentina tried to hi-jack the deal at the eleventh hour, perhaps seeing Alberto as a replacement for the Juventus-bound Dusan Vlahovic.
But Zenit are dotting the Is and crossing the Ts, talks between the two parties reaching an advanced stage.
Alberto, who scored 11 goals during the 2021 Brazilian Serie A season, should undergo a medical in Russia in the coming days.
Why did Yuri Alberto choose Zenit St Petersburg?
“Today there is an important proposal and we are evaluating it,” confirms Inter president Alessandro Barcellos.
Internacional are hoping to keep Alberto until the summer, however, though Zenit would prefer to see the 20-year-old join their ranks in the winter window.
A decision could depend on whether or not Zenit talisman Sardar Azmoun – who has signed a pre-contract agreement with Bayer Leverkusen – moves to Germany now or in a few months’ time.
“Our idea is that (Yuri) doesn’t leave now,” Barcellos adds. “We agreed with staff and his family to stay at least halfway through the year.”
Either way, Zenit have brought an end to Arsenal’s long-running pursuit of the former Santos starlet.
The Gunners began tracking Alberto all the way back in 2017. And Goal Brasil reported in December that a move to the Emirates was still very much on the cards.
Arsenal have already missed out on one striker target this week with Vlahovic heading to Turin.
Everton were interested too. Given that they’ve scored just 24 goals in 20 Premier League games, a new striker cannot come soon enough.
But it won’t be Yuri Alberto.
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