Arsenal have been boosted in their attempts to sign Sardar Azmoun after Roma director Tiago Pinto insisted the Zenit St Petersburg striker wouldn’t be joining the Serie A club, speaking to Sport24.
The Iranian’s agent may have ruled out a January move from the Gazprom Arena but, with his contract set to expire in the summer, it seems Zenit have little choice but to start planning for life without their talismanic centre-forward.
According to Onze Mondial, Arsenal have expressed an interest. They won’t have been the only ones, though, with Lyon and Bayer Leverkusen among others who’ve been linked.
Azmoun, who’s valued at about £17 million by Zenit, scored his ninth goal of the season during last night’s Champions League group-stage clash with Juventus. He looks well on track to match his career-best tally of 21 in all competitions.
A Roma side now under the stewardship of Jose Mourinho has also been mentioned in recent weeks but, according to general manager Tiago Pinto, there’s not a shred of truth in rumours suggesting Azmoun may be heading to the Italian capital.
Could Sardar Azmoun sign for Arsenal?
“Of course, our scouts regularly attend Champions League matches but Roma don’t show an interest in Azmoun. This is fake,” says Pinto, whose employers splashed out about £50 million to bring in Tammy Abraham and Eldor Shomurodov before September’s transfer deadline.
Interestingly, Azmoun turned down a move to Arsenal’s north London neighbours Tottenham Hotspur a few months ago. Perhaps he feared first-team minutes would be hard to come by with Harry Kane sticking around.
“I had offers from Lyon, Roma, Bayer and Tottenham – but all the proposals were rejected. This year I won’t move anywhere,” explained the three-time Russian Premier League champion at the time.
“I never said I was leaving Zenit. When Lyon made the first offer, Zenit rejected it immediately. I have a contract. Even if I wanted to leave, the club will not allow it.”
A 6ft 1in target man, Azmoun would give Arsenal a dash of physicality in the final third – something the club has been lacking since Olivier Giroud crossed the divide to Chelsea almost four years ago.
Like Azmoun, Alexandre Lacazette will become a free agent in the summer, while there are also doubts about Eddie Nketiah’s long-term future.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
