Reports linking Russia international Arsen Zakharyan with an £11 million move to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are just “agent’s games”, Dynamo Moscow director Sergey Stepashin has told KPRU.
With the January transfer window less than two months away, it’s hard to sort truth from gossip.
It seems reports linking Russian Premier League wonder kid Zakharyan with a mid-season switch to Liverpool, however, belong firmly in the latter category.
Zakharyan, an exciting, up-and-coming playmaker who has six assists and two goals in 13 games for Dynamo Moscow this season, is the epitome of a typical Liverpool signing – young, hungry, technically gifted and brimming with potential.
As it stands, however, the Merseyside club have not made contact with Dynamo regarding a move to Anfield for a man with four international caps under his belt at the age of just 18.
Is Arsen Zakharyan joining Liverpool?
“No, these are agents’ games,” Stepashin said when asked whether Liverpool had been in touch. “He is still a young man, he still has to grow.”
Zakharyan has been linked with Liverpool’s Stanley Park neighbours Everton, via TEAMtalk, with Leicester, Chelsea and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City also rumoured to be interested.
Stepashin, however, believes Zakharyan should stay in Moscow until 2023 at the earliest, highlighting the fact there’s a dearth of Russian footballers thriving outside their homeland.
“I believe Arsen can play in Russia for another two or three years. Time must pass for a footballer to succeed,” he says.
“And, when he turns 21, (the timing would be) just right. Look, almost no-one from our country plays well abroad right now. Perhaps only (Aleksandr) Golovin.”
Interestingly, Monaco star Golovin has also been mentioned as a transfer target for Everton, although Toffees director Marcel Brands played down those reports this week.
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