Arshavin close to English talks

Russia playmaker 'likely' to secure Premier League negotiations

Last updated: 8th July 2008

Arshavin close to English talks

Arshavin: Premier League interest

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The agent of Zenit St Petersburg star Andrei Arshavin has revealed that he expects the playmaker to travel to England for transfer discussions.

Arshavin impressed at Euro 2008 with Russia to place himself on the radar of a host of European clubs and Spanish giants Barcelona had a second offer of 15million euros (£12m) turned down on Monday.

And while Arshavin's agent, Dennis Lachter, is adamant the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea have yet to make an official approach, he has stated that he expects the 27-year-old to be heading to the Premier League for negotiations.

However, Lachter insists Arshavin would only consider a club which can provide UEFA Champions League football.

"Andrei would like to play in the Premier League but he will not accept an offer from clubs like Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Aston Villa," Lachter said in the Daily Telegraph.

Ambition

"There are only four British clubs he would play for and they are in the Champions League. It's not about money, it's about a team and professional ambition.

"Zenit is negotiating with several clubs. We are now waiting for a phone call from Zenit president Alexander Dyukov to allow us to negotiate his personal terms with one of them. It's most likely he will be heading for England."

But Lachter has said that any interested club will need to double Barca's bid and table an offer of around £24million to prise the playmaker away from Zenit.

"It's going to be a very big transfer," Lachter added. "Zenit will definitely not accept an offer of less than 30million euros (£23.8m).

"They are owned by Gazprom, who are one of the biggest oil companies in the world, so they can afford not to sell him cheaply."