Russian Transfer Deadline Day LIVE

August 31, 2016 by Leave a Comment

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22:54 BST: Back to Yann M’Vila. There’s a couple of images going round purportedly showing a dejected M’Vila posting on Instagram that he’s not going to Sunderland. We shall see.

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Make sure to read Toke Theilade’s piece from yesterday about which deals we could see go through today:

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TOP STORIES

Axel Witsel on the verge of joining Juventus for €18 million. The Belgian has reportedly already arrived in Turin where he is to undergo a medical before the deal can be announced. Witsel’s contract with Zenit expires after this season, and he has been expected to leave the club this summer.

Ezequiel Garay wants move to Valencia according to Mircea Lucescu. Spanish newspaper Marca have reported that the deal is almost done, and that Zenit will receive around €20 million for the Argentinian defender.

Ivan Novoseltsev registered as a Zenit player, confirmed by his former club Rostov. The defender’s arrival suggests further departures in defence from Zenit.

Lokomotiv have completed the signing of Dinamo Moscow’s troublesome midfielder Igor Denisov on a 1 year loan deal. Lokomotiv have also signed Igor Portnyagin from Rubin and have signed Dinamo’s Boris Rotenberg Jr on a three-year deal.

Spartak have released Sergey Parshivlyuk, Pavel Yakovlev - both joining Anzhi - and Vladimir Granat, who has signed with Rostov.

Krylia Sovetov have signed Yoann Mollo from Saint Etienne on a permanent transfer.

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22:51 BST: In Rubin Kazan news, it looks like Chris Mavinga was not able to seal a move, and will see out the final year of his contract with the club.

22:51 BST: OFFICIAL! Ezequiel Garay has joined Valencia from Zenit. A big loss for the giants from Saint Petersburg, who earlier signed Ivan Novoseltsev as a pre-emptive replacement.

22:40 BST: It’s all going on in Rostov! Two more signings announced. Romanian winger Andrei Prepeliță joins from Ludogorets, and Slovenian defender Miha Mevlja from Dinamo Bucharest.

22:33 BST: Rostov with the double hit, as they go on to announce the signing of Vladimir Granat, who was released by Spartak earlier today.

22:28 BST: The window may now have closed, but we’re expecting several sides to announce deals that went through late on. First up, Rostov have announced the signing of Maxim Grigoriev, who was released by Lokomotiv earlier this summer.

In the FNL, Dinamo Moscow have re-signed Pavel Pogrebnyak after he left them earlier in the summer.

22:06 BST: Just a few minutes after Nash Futbol commentator Nobel Arustamyan reported that the Witsel deal was back on the table, he has now changed his mind. Witsel will stay with Zenit, and leave either in January or on a free transfer after the season.

22:04 BST: The Russian transfer window is now closed. The clubs will still be able to sell players to foreign clubs, but can’t buy new players themselves. Players without contracts can still be signed.

22:02 BST: The Axel Witsel deal is back on the table according to Nash Futbol commentator Nobel Arustamyan. According to Arustamyan, the two clubs have agreed on the fee during a Skype call.

21:35 BST: 31-year-old midfielder Vladislav Kulik is set to leave Rubin Kazan according to our sources. The midfielder is expected to finalize a move to Anzhi soon, making him the club’s third signing today. Kulik has never managed to reach his high level from his stint with Kuban.

21:28 BST: After being released by Spartak earlier today, Vladimir Granat has now found a new club. He will, as expected, join Rostov according to Championat. He has reportedly signed a three-year contract, and is a direct replacement for Ivan Novoseltsev who has been sold to Zenit.

21:06 BST: Axel Witsel’s move from Zenit to Juventus looks to be in danger of falling through. The Blue-White-Sky Blues have according to Football Italia raised the asking price for the midfielder.

21:00 BST: There is just 1 hour left until Russian clubs are no longer able to sign players. However other sides will be able to sign players from Russia until various times *cough* GARAY AND WITSEL *cough*, so this could end up going for another couple of hours yet. Buckle in, get some snacks, and enjoy.

20:51 BST: I have to end on a bombshell, but the best I can do is neither confirm nor deny that Mario Balotelli has been sighted at Tyumen’s Roschino airport heading for the Geolog… I think you know which one it is. Anyway, I’ll hand over to David and Toke to take you through to the end of this Live Blog - let’s hope Garay and Witsel give us some serious deals to cover.

20:37 BST: You didn’t think I’d go a whole Live Blog without mentioning Tyumen did you? Thought not. Back to RFPL news, and Pavel Mogilivets has been unregistered by Zenit for this upcoming season, suggesting very strongly that he could be heading back to Rostov where he performed so well last season. Not official yet, but keep your eyes on that one.

20:33 BST: I’m going to throw this out there - why haven’t CSKA exercised a right to recall Kirill Panchenko from his loan at Dinamo? If they signed off on his temporary move away without allowing themselves that option they only have themselves to blame, especially seeing as he is tearing up the second tier at the moment, already three goals ahead of last season’s FNL top goalscorer, and 93rd most influential young person in Tyumen in 2014, Khasan Mamtov.

20:27 BST: Time is running out for Valencia - or any other club, for that matter - to wrap up a deal for Ezequiel Garay. The confirmation of Novoseltsev’s arrival in St Petersburg suggests a move could still be very possible, but we are still waiting on official news from Zenit or the Spanish outfit, who have been busy themselves today.

20:18 BST: Ural have added another striker - 19-year-old Mohammed Konate has been registered with the Premier League, but little is known about him. Mysterious…

20:06 BST: TWO HOURS LEFT. Yann M’Vila is set to have his medical at 9pm BST ahead of a €8.2 million move to Sunderland, leaving less than an hour to wrap that one up. It will be tight, but should be completed.

Ivan Novoseltsev has been registered as a Zenit player on the RFPL official site - that explains why he is able to play in the Russia match tonight, the crafty fella had already sorted his big move. Disaster for Rostov after also losing Bastos a fortnight ago.

19:59 BST: One major absentee from this entire Live Transfer Window blog has been last year’s champions CSKA. Russian Football News Editor-in-Chief Toke Theilade is not impressed with their lack of activity: “After winning the league last season, CSKA received a golden chance to finally make a decent European campaign when they were placed in pot one for the Champions League group stage.

“However in order to finally stop being embarrassing they would have to strengthen the squad. They especially needed a striker after selling Ahmed Musa to England. Unfortunately the Army Men have failed miserably this summer. It looks like another awful European season.”

Strong words, but who could argue? In our poll on twitter, Oumar Niasse won 44% of the votes for who the club should sign - not a bad shout since Lacina Traore has looked about as useful as Harry Redknapp’s wife in front of goal so far…

19:52 BST: Don’t forget Russia are playing a hugely significant friendly against Turkey right now with a few potential movers involved in the match in Antalya. Political tensions have eased enough for the fixture to go ahead, and as David mentioned earlier, Ivan Novoseltsev is starting despite strong talk of Zenit’s interest. It’s 0-0 after 25 minutes.

19:45 BST: Boris Rotenberg has now officially signed for Lokomotiv. The fullback has admitted he is injured at the moment so Railroaders fans won’t be able to see their new man in action yet, but his arrival offers cover after the departure of Jan Durica.

19:38 BST: While David grabs a bit to eat, Andrew Flint will take over as we head into the last two and half hours of the window in Russia. (That’s an unsubtle hint to all RFPL clubs - get a move on with those last minute panic buys…) My winners so far are Krylia, once again landing Yoann Mollo - who assisted all three goals in a stunning display against Zenit last season - but this time as a permanent signing. Still no news on Axel WItsel or Ezequiel Garay, our two big stories at the startof the day, but there’s still time.

19:29 BST: Boris Rotenberg’s profile has appeared on Lokomotiv’s website. A loan move may be just around the corner…

19:21 BST: And it’s all gone quiet over there! Bit of a quiet spell while we await some deals to come through.

We’re expecting Yann M’Vila to be announced at Sunderland any second. Sport Express are insistent that Rostov’s Ivan Novoseltsev will swap places with Zenit’s Alexandr Ryazantsev this evening. With the Rostov defender in action for Sbornaya this evening, that could be a late one, so stay with us.

It all remains up in the air about Oumar Niasse. A departure from Everton seems likely, but a return to Russia, not so much.

Rubin defender Chris Mavinga could also be on the move. The DR Congo international flew to Paris this morning. Sheffield Wednesday have been linked.

18:45 BST: It’s official! Dinamo Moscow have confirmed that Igor Denisov has joined Lokomotiv Moscow on a 1 year loan deal.

In other news, their former defender, Chris Samba, has completed a transfer to Greek side Panathanaikos.

18:36 BST: Dinamo Moscow have snapped up Luke Wilkshire on a 1 year deal after he had earlier terminated his contract with Terek Grozny. The Australian returns for his 2nd spell in Moscow.

18:31 BST: Seems to perhaps be some progress in the Ryazantsev/Novoseltsev saga. Championat.com say that Ryazantsev has agreed to join Rostov, however Novoseltsev has been named in the starting line up for Russia’s friendly against Turkey this evening, which could scupper Zenit’s hopes of signing him…

18:26 BST: Following their signing of Blagoy Georgiev - which appears to be a free transfer - Orenburg have sold their winger Ivan Markelov to sleeping giants Dinamo Moscow in the FNL.

18:20 BST: Krylia are busy! They have confirmed the signing of former Rostov defender Timofey Margasov on a free transfer.

Perhaps the biggest transfer of their entire window, however, is the permanent signing of Yoann Mollo from Saint Etienne! Well done, Krylia!

18:10 BST: Krylia Sovetov have parted ways with Macedonian striker Adis Jahovic, who has signed with Turkish side Goztepe SK.

18:06 BST: Another one bites the dust at Rubin! Bulgarian midfielder Blagoy Georgiev, who has been out of the first team since December, has joined FC Orenburg. No details as yet, but it’s thought to be a loan deal.

18:01 BST: FC Rostov have also announced the signing of Russian goalkeeeper Ivan Komissarov from Volga Nizhny Novgorod.

Also, I did forget to mention in my excitement, but a new host has joined. Taking over from Toke is myself, David Sansun!

17:58 BST: FC Rostov have announced the signing of Papa Gueye, who was last with Ukrainian side Dnipro.

17:28 BST: Lokomotiv have announced the signing of Rubin striker Igor Portnyagin.

17:20 BST: The last couple of hours have been relatively quiet, but now we have something for you again. Former Dinamo Kyiv and Ukrainian international striker Artem Milevskiy is closing in on a move to FNL side Tosno. Tosno have already confirmed the interest, and the only obstacle left to conquer is to get the paper work done in time.

16:20 BST: St. Etienne winger Yohan Mollo could be on his way to a Russian club on loan according to Le Progrés. Mollo spent last season on loan at Krylia Sovetov, and was linked with both Lokomotiv, Spartak and Krasnodar during the spring.

16:07 BST: Recently promoted Arsenal Tula have announced the signing of 22-year old central defender Jherson Vergara from AC Milan. Vergara comes on a one-year loan deal. He joined Milan in 2013, but is yet to play an official game for the Italian powerhouse.

15:40 BST: Anderlecht has pulled from the race for Nicolas Lombaerts’ signature. Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad Anderlecht sports director Herman Van Holsbeeck said: “We improved our bid significantly, but Zenit refused.”

15:14 BST: CONFIRMED DEAL - Anzhi have announced the signings of Sergey Parshivlyuk and Pavel Yakovlev. Both of them on three-year contracts. Parshivlyuk and Yakovlev were both released by Spartak earlier today.

14:56 BST: The Yann M’Vila transfer saga are finally ending. The French midfielder has been frozen out at Rubin Kazan, but is now on his way to Newcastle Airport where he’ll sign with Sunderland. The fee is expected to be around €7 million, which seems like an incredible piece of business by Rubin considering his contract expires in December.

14:22 BST: After just collecting five points from the first five games, Ural have completed the signing of Bulgarian international Ventsislav Hristov according to Russian sports journalist Max Allanazarov. The 27-year-old striker joins Ural from Levski Sofia, for whom he scored eight goals in 15 fixtures last season.

14:11 BST: After a quiet transfer window so far, Lokomotiv have been very active so far. The Railroaders are closing in on Igor Denisov, who Dinamo, according to fcdin.com, are ready to let go. It all depends on the negotiations between the midfielder and Lokomotiv. Match TV has furthermore reported that the Red-Greens have signed Rubin striker Igor Portnyagin on a three-year contract. Last but not least are Sports Daily reporting that former Dinamo defender Boris Rotenberg Jr. has joined Lokomotiv on a free transfer. This fits well with the rumours of his father Boris Rotenberg possibly investing money in the club. Lokomotiv are yet to make any official announcements though.

BST 14:00: Former Lokomotiv striker Baye Oumar Niasse will not be returning to Russia according to news agency TASS. Niasse has been a complete failure at Everton who signed him in January, but despite offers from Spartak and Lokomotiv, the Senegalese striker has opted to stay in England. His wife recently gave birth to a child, and they want to raise the child in Western Europe, preferably England.

BST 13:43: Rostov have lost several important players this summer, and Ivan Novoseltsev could be the next out of the door. The Russian international is strongly linked with Zenit. With recent Champions League qualification, and the transfer money from Bastos and possibly Novoseltsev, Rostov do however have money to spend on much needed additions to the squad. Match TV reports that they are in negotiations for Ludogorets midfielder Andrei Prepelita, and Dinamo Bucharest midfielder Miha Mevlja.

BST 13:36: Following in Andrew’s footsteps is always a difficult task. I will try nevertheless. Much has been written about about Zenit defender Ezequiel Garay in the last couple of months, and while he now seems destined to continue his career in Spain with Valencia, he did have other options. As reported by Sovsport yesterday, the Argentinian was approached by Chelsea, but he turned them down.

Garay has been one of Zenit’s most consistent players since he joined the club, and he will be difficult to replace.

BST 13:28: As Nelly Furtado once lamented, “Why must all good things come to an end?” - it is time for me to pass over to our editor-in-chief Toke Theilade for the next few hours. Don’t worry, your in good hands - there are sure to be some bombs of killer knowledge involving Ramzan Kadyrov’s cat under his watch. I will leave you with one last golden nugget, though; Krasnodar were within a whisker of signing Hatem Ben Arfa from under PSG’s noses this summer according to Match TV commentator German Tkachenko. The French playmaker even arrived in the city to see the amazing new facilities and meet Sergey Galitskiy himself. What if…

BST 13:20: BREAKING: Spartak have just announced that they have released Pavel Yakovlev, Vladimir Granat and Sergey Parshivlyuk. This paves the way for Granat and Parshivlyuk to complete moves to Rostov and Krasnodar respectively, while Yakovlev won’t be short of suitors - perhaps last season’s loan spell at Krylia could be revived?

BST 13:12: Lokomotiv might not settle for just bringing in one striker in Igor Portnyagin, as the Liverpool Echo has reported that the Moscow giants have enquired about the possibility of bringing back their former star Oumar Niasse from Everton. The Senegalese hitman has had a wretched time in England with very chances to prove himself, and has suffered the indignity of not even being given a squad number by Ronald Koeman, so a departure at least seems a certainty. He is certainly well-loved by Railroader fans…

BST 13:06: Krylia’s situation is remarkably similar to Hull City, who have also begun a late rush to bolster their squad. Anyway, over at Spartak, Massimo Carrera has continued his impressively powerful start as manager by effectively showing Pavel Yakovlev, Vladimir Granat and Parshivlyuk - who is close to a deal at Krasnodar as we mentioned earlier - by keeping them in second team. Granat has been linked with a return to his former loan club Rostov by Sport Express.

BST 12:57: Krylia are also said to be close to signing former Rostov fullback Timofey Margasov after he was released in July, according to Sport Express, while AC Milan’s 22-year-old Colombian centre back Jherson Vergara is in their sights too. Arsenal Tula are also the hunt for the latter according to TuttoMercato.

BST 12:45: CONFIRMED DEAL - Let’s take a look further down the food chain: Krylia boss Frank Vercauteren openly bemoaned the lack of investment in his squad a fortnight ago, but since then has added strikers Jerry Mbakogu and Christian Pasquato. Both have given away penalties already, but the fact they have joined is a cause for celebration in itself. Now they have been joined by Zenit-2 midfielder Vyacheslav Zinkov for around €500k.

BST 12:38: The Rostov rollercoaster looks set to continue with talk of a possible swap involving Alexander Ryzyantsev and Ivan Novoseltsev. After losing Bastos to lazio for €6 million, this would be a disastrous deal for Rostov to allow, especially given Novosetlsev’s nationality and his recent form that has seen him recalled to the national squad for today’s friendly in Turkey.

BST 12:29: Terek have released former Dinamo fullback Luke Wilkshire with Sport Express suggesting he could return to his former club. Competition for places has increased after the return to fitness of Rizvan Utsiev and arrival of Angel Wilker, who scored his first goal for the club against Rostov at the weekend. 23-year-old midfielder Emil Dzhabrailov has signed today after being without a club since January.

BST 12:18: One potentially huge transfer that looks very likely is Dinamo bad boy Igor Denisov to Lokomotiv. Denisov has only played twice this season in the FNL for Dinamo, and would relish the chance to get straight back into the top flight. When questioned about the rumour by Sport Express in the last few hours, newly-appointed manager Yuriy Semin replied; “Maybe, maybe not. Tomorrow let’s say more…”. In Deadline Day speak, that is one level below the man himself walking onto the pitch in the red and green…

BST 12:06: Krasnodar are not known for throwing money around, but owner Sergey Galitskiy has said they are in the market for a Russian defender after the parture of Ragnar Sigurdsson to Fulham. Sergey Parshivlyuk has been spotted in a hospital in Krasnodar and is on the verge of signing a deal with the Bulls according to TASS, who say he has already terminated his contract at Spartak and is undergoing a medical. Spartak-2 coach Evgeniy Bushmanov had earlier claimed Parshivlyuk would return to training, however.

BST 11:57: Speaking of Rubin, French full back Chris Mavinga has been officially registered in their RFPL squad for this season, and is in France right now renewing his visa. It had been thought he was due to leave after training away from the main squad along with former Sunderland midfielder Yann M’Vila, and we could yet see a late move for either player.

BST 11:48: Lokomotiv have been heavily linked with Rubin Kazan striker Igor Portnyagin for a €3 million according to state news agency TASS, which would go some way towards solving the Railroaders’ lack of goals. Rubin could do with offloading some players from their wage bill after their extravagant summer expenditure, and RFN has learned from a source close to the club that there will be more departures from Kazan today.

BST 11:34: Sorry, I couldn’t resist - photoshop will play havoc with your nerves on a day like today. Zenit look like losing more than just Witsel after the departure of Hulk to China for a whopping €55 million, as Ezequiel Garay is keen to return to La Liga with Valencia, but as of yet neither deal is confirmed. If they do go through, it would take the Blue-White-Sky-Blues’ summer income up to an eye-watering €93 million. And that’s before the possible departure of Nicolas Lombaerts, who is close to a switch to Anderlecht according to Match TV commentator @ANobelito…

BST 11:24: Andrew Flint here to take you through the first couple of hours… Welcome everyone to Russian Football News’ first ever LIVE blog covering the Russian Transfer Deadline Day! As you can see from the Top Stories below, the big news today is the imminent departure of Axel Witsel to Juventus - the golden rule of deadline day it’s never over till you see the player with the new shirt…

*NOT official. Yet…

BST 10:50: As the English Premier League looks set to break its own record spending in a single transfer window by splashing over €1.2 billion, the Russian Premier League promises to be every bit as manic. While the spending won’t come close to matching its English counterpart, plenty of teams have urgent needs to rebuild their squads for very different reasons ahead of the midnight MSK deadline (10pm UK/11pm CET) tonight, and we will bring you the latest rumours, confirmed deals and more throughout the day. All times will be posted in BST.

 

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