Tottenham Interested In Arshavin
Latest reports suggest that Tottenham Hotspur are interested in replacing Dimitar Berbatov with Russia’s Euro 2008 star Andrei Arshavin.
Arshavin hit the headlines in June, after his two appearances for Russia against Sweden and the Netherlands - winning the man of the match award in both, and single-handedly turning Guus Hiddink’s team into Euro 2008 contenders.
Arshavin was widely tipped to be on his way to Barcelona after they - reportedly - expressed their interest, while Arshavin himself stated his desire to play for the Catalan giants. His future now seems to be a little less clear.
His current club, Zenit St Petersburg (winners of the UEFA Cup last season after beating Rangers in the final), have claimed that Tottenham have expressed an interest in Arshavin, and are willing to pay £15.9million for his signature.
It’s widely believed that Dimitar Berbatov will join Man Utd before the transfer deadline, despite Tottenham’s complaint to the Premier League over Alex Ferguson’s quote in a national newspaper stating he is confident that he will sign Berbatov.
The approach to Zenit St Petersburg will only fuel speculation that Berbatov is set to leave - although Robbie Keane has also been subject to transfer speculation with Rafa Benitez desperate to sign him for Liverpool to replace Peter Crouch, who has rejoined Portsmouth.
In Other Spurs’ News
Sunderland look set to sign a Spurs’ quartet for a fee believed to be around £23million. The four players involved are Steed Malbranque, Younes Kaboul, Teemu Tainio and Pascal Chimbonda. Sunderland manager Roy Keane has revealed that he is hopeful he will complete all four signings this week.
Pascal Chimbonda is the only member of the quartet to make a statement regarding his transfer, saying:
“I travelled to meet Keane on Saturday at Sunderland’s training ground. I was extremely impressed with what he had to say. Keane’s honesty and openness really were fantastic and I particularly like the plans he has for Sunderland. The opportunity excites me and I hope he was impressed with what I had to say.”
