Tag: Zenit St. Petersburg

Azmoun could be back in St, Petersburg in January.

The Russian “sports” website claimed in a news article today that Sardar Azmoun is on the verge of returning to Zenit St. Petersburg team.

This sport media announced that “Sergei Sumak”, the head coach of Zenit, requested the club to recruit Sardar Azmoun in the winter transfer window in January 2023 and named the Team Melli striker team as one of the winter gifts for Sumak. A part of this site’s report states: “Zenit will try to bring back Sardar Azmoun from Bayer Leverkusen, where he has struggled recently.

According to reports, the Russian club is planning to arrange a loan deal for Azoun. It is possible that the contract has a permanent purchase option. “The transfer market website has estimated the price of Sardar Azmoun at 18 million euros.” Azmoun is highly valued by the Zenit, he was on this team roster for three seasons and holds the record for the most goals among Russian foreign players. He has scored 85 goals in Russia along with “Wagner Love”, the former striker of CSKA Club.

Before this, news about the interest of Russian clubs Zenit and Dynamo in acquiring Azmoun was published and denied by some media outlets in Russia. Today’s news on the sports site is the latest news related to the striker of the Iranian national team who is currently injured and out of action for Bayer Leverkusen.

Sardar Azmoun: Bayer Leverkusen Add Goals And Depth Below Market Value

Manuel Veth

Manuel Veth: Contributor SportsMoney
It is one of the more exciting transfers of this Bundesliga transfer window. On the day before deadline day, Bayer Leverkusen signed Sardar Azmoun for $4.4 million from Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg. The 27-year-old Iranian had previously agreed on a free summer transfer with Die Werkself. Overall it is a brilliant deal for Leverkusen, who signed the forward in a deal significantly below Azmoun’s $27.5 million Transfermarkt market value.

“We’re delighted to have completed this transfer,” Bayer Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said in a club statement. “Sardar Azmoun has been one of Russian football’s top goalscorers for several years. He’s been champion three years in a row there with Zenit, regularly played in the Champions League, and shown himself to be of international class at the highest level. Our attack gains extra quality with him. Sardar will make our attack even more unpredictable and powerful.”

Azmoun, without a doubt, brings added depth to Leverkusen’s attack. The 27-year-old has been a star in Russia for some time and joined Zenit from Rubin Kazan in February 2019 in a deal worth $13.2 million. It was Kazan who found the striker in Iran, where he played for Sepahan’s youth academy. But it would be at Rostov where Azmoun made a name for himself, scoring 25 goals and six assists in 77 games. Two of those goals came against Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid in Rostov’s memorable 2016/17 Champions League campaign.

Rostov had bought the striker for just $2.53 million in 2016 from Rubin Kazan. But Russian football is not always that straightforward. Like many Russian clubs, Rostov always struggled with finances, and Azmoun wanted out of the club. Around that time, Azmoun was consistently linked with a move to one of the top four leagues; reports suggested links to Liverpool, several Italian clubs, but also Borussia Dortmund.

Instead, what happened was so very typical for business practices of clubs in the post-Soviet space. Only very few institutions in the region are able to develop players and sell them at the right time. Also, players often fail to find the right move, add agents to the mix, and it becomes a difficult proposition all around. Azmoun, for example, did not move to Europe but instead back to Rubin Kazan in 2017, where the owner, the Republic of Tatarstan, was once again on a spending spree.

Those spending sprees, however, also come and go; Rubin as a club has always been between very rich and very poor; there is no middle ground. As a result, Azmoun was sold to Zenit in 2019. For most talented players based in Russia, the story would have ended here—Zenit, owned by Gazprom, can pay wages at a tax rate that is often impossible to match for the big clubs in Europe and, as a result, players are unlikely to move on.

The same was thought of Azmoun, but instead, the Iranian has made the move to a top-four league after all. What remains to be seen is whether the move comes at the right time; Azmoun is no longer a talent but, at 27, a veteran. At the same time, that can be an asset too; Leverkusen receives a player with significant experience in the ups and downs of a football career.

But how will Azmoun fit in the squad? At first glance, Azmoun is a clear-cut number 9, and in that position, Leverkusen has Patrik Schick, one of the most productive strikers in European football. But Schick has been heavily linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund, where he could replace Erling Haaland. Azmoun could be an investment for the future, a possible replacement for the Czech goalscoring machine.

There is, however, also room for Schick and Azmoun to play together. Although most commonly employed as a lone-striker in a 3-4-3 system by Zenit this season, Azmoun has also played with a Schick type of number 9 in Artem Dzyuba this year. Azmoun can add more tactical depth to Gerardo Seoane’s side at Leverkusen. In fact, the Swiss head coach previously preferred a 4-4-2 system rather than the 4-2-3-1 system used by Leverkusen this year, adding Azmoun now.

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth 

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Manuel Veth

Striker Azmoun moves to Leverkusen earlier than planned.

Leverkusen (DPA)

Football Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen has brought forward the signing of Iranian national striker Sardar Azmoun.

Sunday, 30.01.2022, 16:21 hrs

Sardar Azmoun (r) will move to Leverkusen in the winter. Photo: Dmitri Lovetsky/AP/dpa

Both clubs announced that the 27-year-old will move to the Rhineland in the winter transfer period. “We are happy about the constructive agreement with Zenit and that we can now rely on Sardar’s qualities at an early stage,” said sporting director Simon Rolfes. A week ago, the club had reported the actually transfer-free transfer Azmoun’s for summer as perfect. The goalscorer, who scored 39 goals in 60 international matches and became champion three times in a row with Zenit, signed a contract until 2027 with Bayer Leverkusen.

Meanwhile, Zenit has officially confirmed through their Twitter account. that Sardar will be leaving the club with immediate effect. The club wishes to thank Sardar Azmoun for all the work and dedication that he displayed as a valuable member of the team.

Presenting Sardar’s statistics in the Zenit team, the club wrote: “The striker scored 62 goals and provided 17 assists in 104 games for Zenit. Taking into account the goals he scored for FC Rostov and Rubin Kazan, this striker, along with Wagner (85 goals each), are the top foreign players/scorer in the history of the Russian championship.”
The final part of the message reads: “Zenit Club thanks Sardar Azmoun for his incredible performance, the joy of our joint victories, and the love for Zenit and its fans. “Thank you for everything, Sardar!“

Sardar Azmoun finalized the transfer details for the end of the season with Bayer Leverkusen a few days ago and the player was supposed to play in the German Bundesliga at the start of season 2022/23 in a 5-year contract. However, the news of the Azmoun agreement with Leverkusen spread in the media, angering Zenit managers and making them think of selling the striker to Leverkusen in the same winter transfers window. The 20-year-old striker of the Brazilian International team, “Yuri Alberto”, will replace the Azmoun in Zenit.

Sardar Azmoun may join Bayer Leverkusen as early as next week!

A French journalist claimed that the Iranian striker would terminate his contract this winter and will immediately join the Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in the winter transfer window.

Zenit striker Sardar Azmoun will terminate his contract with Zenit St Petersburg ahead of schedule and join Leverkusen this winter, RMC Sports correspondent Luis Tanzi reported on Twitter, according to RMC. The German club will most likely pay for the Azmoun contract period.

One week ago, Azmoon signed a contract with Bayer until 2027. The player’s current contract is with Zenit is valid until the summer of 2022. Azmoun has scored 10 goals and provided 4 assists in 21 games for Zenit this season. The Zenit club announced that the player will not attend Zenit training for two weeks and will be in quarantine so that he can regain his health. Thus, the striker of Bayer Leverkusen next season will be absent for two weeks, even in the training sessions of his club team, and will not be available for the Team Melli game against the UAE in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers on Tuesday 1st February.

Burnley dealt transfer blow as striker target joins Bayer Leverkusen

Burnley’s hopes of landing striker Sardar Azmoun are over after the 27-year-old agreed to a deal with German side Bayer Leverkusen.

The Zenit St Petersburg star is out of contract in the summer and Burnley’were keen on the hotshot and made a bid, believed to be around £8million. While the Russian club were prepared to deal at that price other suitors, including Juventus and Lyon, meant the player was prepared to weigh up his options.

And he has now signed for Leverkusen, penning a contract until 2027.

Iranian international Azmoun has scored 10 times in 21 games this season.

Burnley is struggling at the foot of the Premier League table this season with many games in hand due to Covid. They have also sold their best striker to Newcastle. The chances of surviving relegation is quite thin. On the other hand, Bayer Leverkusen is enjoying a successful season in the German top flight. With 20 games played, the club is ranked 3rd in the table behind Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, and a place in the next season UEFA Champions League seems to be well within reach of the club.

 

Sardar Azmoun signed by Bayern Leverkusen in the summer

Bayer Leverkusen have confirmed the signing of Sardar Azmoun from the summer of 2022, with the Iranian international joining from Zenit St. Petersburg on a five-year contract.

Azmoun, a 27-year-old forward with an eye for goals and assists, will compete for a place in Leverkusen’s starting attack with Patrik Schick and Lucas Alario when he makes his move to Bundesliga football in the summer.

“[It is] a step from the best club in Russia to one of the best leagues in Europe,” he told the Bundesliga club’s website.

“Bayer Leverkusen have a really great squad. I’ve been keeping an eye on the club for a long time and am impressed by the team’s style of play. It’s incredibly exciting for me soon to be able to play in the Bundesliga. And I’m convinced I’ll make the team even better with my footballing ability.”

Capped 60 times by Iran, an impressive 39 goals for his country compliments his selection for the World Cup in 2018 and two Asian Cup squads in 2015 and 2019.

As well as being the youngest Iranian to score in a UEFA Champions League game, he is also the Iranian record-holder for the most goals scored in the competition with six goals.

He has spent his professional career entirely in the Russian top flight with two spells each at Rubin Kazan and Rostov preceding his transfer to Zenit in 2019.

In St. Petersburg, he has found the net 62 times in 104 appearances across all competitions. He was named Russia’s Footballer of the Year for 2021 and his impressive goal stats have continued into this season, in which he has scored 10 goals in 21 games – including two strikes in the Champions League.

“We’re delighted to have completed this transfer,” said Leverkusen’s sporting director Simon Rolfes.

“Sardar Azmoun has been one of Russian football’s top goalscorers for several years. He’s been champion three years in a row there with Zenit, regularly played in the Champions League, and shown himself to be of international class at the highest level. Our attack gains extra quality with him. Sardar will make our attack even more unpredictable and powerful.”

Managing director for sport, Rudi Völler added: “He’s very quick, good in the air and has a good sense for space. But he’s not just a goalscorer. Sardar Azmoun also sets up a lot of goals and is an outstanding fit for the Werkself as a player who combines well with others.”

Arsenal interested in highly rated forward Azmoun as Lacazette replacement

Arsenal are eyeing Zenit St Petersburg forward Sardar Azmoun.

Onze Mundial says the Gunners have identified Zenit St Petersburg forward Sardar Azmoun as a potential Alexandre Lacazette replacement.

Lacazette is wanted by a host of top European clubs, including LaLiga champions Atletico Madrid. The 30-year-old’s contract expires next June, meaning a pre-contract can be arranged from January.

And Zenit’s Azmoun – dubbed the ‘Iranian Lionel Messi’ – is on the Gunners’ list to replace the Frenchman.

They are not the first Premier League side to be linked with his services. Azmoun revealed last month that he had rejected Tottenham during the summer.

On a potential transfer, he said: “I never said that I was leaving Zenit. The media wrote that I was undergoing a medical examination and agreed on everything with a certain team. I have a contract, even if I wanted to leave, the club will not allow it. It was the media that sent me to another team.”

“I had offers from Lyon, Roma, Bayer [Leverkusen], and Tottenham. But all the proposals were rejected, this year I will not move anywhere.”

The Iranian forward impressively scored 19 goals in 29 appearances for the Russian club last season. Currently, on duty with his national team playing in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifiers.

Taremi & Azmoun see red in their clubs league matches!

Sardar Azmoun, like Mehdi Taremi, was red-carded and dismissed in the match played today.  in the tenth round of the Russian Premier League Zenit hosted Sochi in St, Petersburg and went ahead through a goal scored by Artem Dzyuba on the stroke of halftime. Three minutes earlier Sardar Azmoun was given his marching order after a VAR review of the incident by the referee. Azmoun was involved in a fifty Fifty ball with Sochi keeper but his foot hit the keeper’s midriff. Initially, the referee branded a yellow card, but on video review, he changed the color to red. Zenit went on to suffer its first defeat of the season 1-2.

 

Yesterday (Saturday) in Portugal, Mehdi Taremi was also given his marching order after a second yellow card was awarded for diving in the penalty box. That second yellow meant a red card and dismissal from the match. Porto however, went on to win the match 2-1.

Although Sardar Azmoun’s straight red card was more than harsh as he had the full right to go for the ball, unfortunately, he collided with the keeper with his foot high enough to be rendered a dangerous play. Taremi’s red card was typical misconduct by the player who is accumulating yellow and red cards at an alarming level in Europe. Taremi has received 6 yellow cards so far and so early in the season with club and country and now a red card!

 

The timing of the two red cards for arguably the best two players in Team Melli does not augur well with a crucial World Cup double starting in 4 days time, first against the UAE and then in Azadi against South Korea.

However, it was not all bad news for the Legionnaires in Europe as AEK Athen featuring three Team Melli players managed to win 3-1 away to Panetolokos to keep pace with the top of the table in Greece top division. Millad Mohammadi made his debut for AEK Athens after his transfer and played the full 90 minutes. Ansarifard and Hajsafy both were brought in with 15 minutes to go.

Iran will play UAE in Al Zabeel Stadium in Dubai at 20:45 local time (20:15 Iran Time)

Lyon deal for Sardar Azmoun collapses.

As reported by RMC Sport and Foot Mercato, Ligue 1 side Lyon’s attempted deal for Iranian international striker Sardar Azmoun has collapsed, as Zenit St Petersburg have decided that they do not have time to find an adequate replacement.

Sporting Director Juninho now has little to no hope about a u-turn in talks for manager Peter Bosz’s number one target in the striker position.

As a result, on Monday morning OL began to accelerate conversations to sign 27-year-old French striker Gaëtan Laborde from Montpellier – Director of Football Vincent Ponsot has been in direct contact with the relevant parties this morning.

MHSC are open to selling should an acceptable proposal come in, with MHSC seeking around €20m. West Ham United, Rennes, and Sevilla all remain interested in the ex-Bordeaux man with just hours remaining during this transfer window.

L’ÉQUIPE claims Azmoun has signed with Lyon!

Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) leaders have a signed contractual agreement with the Iranian striker, Sardar Azmoun who wants to join Peter Bosz’s team. The two clubs are very close to agreeing on the transfer fee of € 15 million, excluding bonuses.

The French sports publication L’ Equipe has published the news last night claiming the transfer of Azmoun. The article is translated below:

Failing to be able to count on André Onana, Peter Bosz the head coach of French Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais will perhaps see his second priority of the summer arrive in the coming few days. The Dutch Coach is absolutely keen to recruit Sardar Azmoun, the Zenit St. Petersburg striker, as L’Equipe revealed on August 9. He also had talked to the Iranian international on the phone several times this summer to convince him to join OL. And the 25-year-old, whom Bosz already wanted to recruit for Leverkusen, was convinced.

With one year left to the end of his contract in Russia, Azmoun has rejected all offers to extend with Zenit, which forces the club to sell him before September 1 and the end of the transfer window if the club wishes to draw a transfer fee from the deal. Zenit will first have to find a replacement OL is trying to take advantage of this and has been negotiating hard for weeks on this issue. The Russian club leaders initially demanded 25 M €, a sum inaccessible for the finances of Lyon. But Vincent Ponsot, OL’s football director, is in the process of securing an agreement around a transfer fee estimated to be around € 15 million, excluding bonuses.

The player has agreed to personal terms for several days with OL for a long-term contract, probably for five years. His arrival nevertheless remains complex to finalize because Zenit has set a condition for the transfer: the Russian club must first find a replacement for Azmoun. The leaders, who primarily targeted Matheus Cunha of Hertha Berlin (finally at Atlético de Madrid), are now trying to convince Carlos Vinicius (Benfica), but are also looking at Andrea Belotti (Torino) and Gaëtan Laborde (Montpellier).

If Zenit manages to find a replacement solution this weekend, Azmoun could pass his medical examination on Monday, according to his entourage, on the eve of the closing of the transfer window, before joining his national team squad. The Iranian (55 caps, 37 goals) would come to occupy the place of Jean Lucas, sold to Monaco this summer.

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