Setanta Sports is reporting that Andrei Arshavin’s agent has revealed the Euro 2008 star has had more than five offers for his signature.
 Andrei Arshavin – plays for Russia against Spain today
There are also reports that Manchester United have entered the race for the Russian play-maker.
Arshavin has had a great tournament in Euro 2008, and plays today for Russia in the semi-final tie against Spain, to determine who will meet Germany in Sunday’s final.
Arshavin has only played the last 2 games for Russia, due to a two game suspension, but Russia have looked a much better outfit with Arshavin’s skill in the team.
The player would prefer to play for Barcelona in Spain, his dream club, and the club he has supported since he was a youngster, but it’s not clear if Barcelona are interested, but why they wouldn’t be, we don’t know.
Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, also seems interested, from an interview he gave yesterday, although he was a little cagey when asked if Arsenal would be actually bidding for the player.
We wouldn’t be surprised if two things have happened relevant to Newcastle:
- Newcastle have already bid for the player
- Newcastle’s bid was the first received, and probably before Euro 2008 even started
Arshavin’s agent would not go into specifics, but he believes the eventual club that signs his client will now have to pay around £16M.
That is exactly twice the price he could have been bought for in January, when Newcastle United and Manchester City were first interested in him.
If Sam Allardyce hadn’t been sacked half way through January, it could be that he would already be a Newcastle player by now, but that’s water under the bridge of course.
Arshavin’s agent Alexei Safonov told Business FM yesterday:.
“Given the team’s [Russia’s] performance, I think the transfer value has grown for Arshavin, Yuri Zhirkov and Igor Akinfeev – three players who may leave to play abroad,â€
“Zenit have received more than five proposals from England and France, but Arshavin wants to go to Spain – football that is suited for him.”
“His transfer price is about €20 million (euros).”
“Zhirkov’s is close to that amount. Zhirkov could play in England and in Germany and Italy.”
That’s a lot of money for left wing-back Zirkhov, whom we thought we could pick up for a lot less than that.
But maybe Nicky Shorey, at around £4M, would be better value, at this stage, but of course he isn’t as good.
What do you think?
Comments welcome.
65 comments so far
Have you ever seen a mackem in Milan?
Jun 26, 2008 at 2:20 AM
Comment #1Well lets hope we are one of those offers.
PS Anyone know where i can get a PS3 for £5?
Kaler
Jun 26, 2008 at 2:28 AM
Comment #2£16mil for Zhirkov aswell?? Jesus these Russians don’t come cheap do they.
Geordie Boot Boy
Jun 26, 2008 at 2:29 AM
Comment #3I am sure that an offer from us will be one of the offers however im prety certain as much as i dont want to be that he wont be signing for us, ide even go as far as to say if he does sign for us i will personally eat my hat
Euro 2008 Goals and Highlights
Jun 26, 2008 at 2:52 AM
Comment #4go RUSSIA!!!
Geordie
Jun 26, 2008 at 3:00 AM
Comment #5The thing to remember lads is after these competitons there is always a few players who have played well and get sold for over inflated prices. It is not very often they go on to be excellant fully committed players for their new clubs, in fact more often than not very dissapointing. Lets trust KK, i know its frustrating, its driving me and my son to the point of madness hahaha!! but i think that young swiss kid could be a canny little signing. Hey it makes a change from all these big names constantly linked, but i do think we will pull a couple of shock and quality coups off. After all which footballer worth their salt and not money orientated wouldnt want to pull that black&white shirt on in front of a buoyant st james with KK saying go and get em and excite that crowd, theirs your arena become a geordie legend. I would crawl over broken glass for my boy to get that opportunity(he is a decent player only 12 though Haha!). In conclusion, identify who is happy with being a multi millionaire but wants to be adored for effort not who wants to swell their bank balance and toss it off at the hurt and expense of us normal toon army lads who look for that uplift every weekend, in a hard old life at the mo, I think KK understands that and will try his best to deliver, after all he has never really let us down lads has he???
craig f
Jun 26, 2008 at 3:07 AM
Comment #6we will probably end up with some Iraqi import with 2 left feet and can only play while standin on his head
S.PARKER
Jun 26, 2008 at 3:37 AM
Comment #7I think we cannot make him join us….even if we are one of those offers….
we should have sign with him before euro2008
Aussie dave
Jun 26, 2008 at 3:44 AM
Comment #8Ed.There are 2 ways which we could still get Arshavin.
1. Freddy Shepherd approach- wait for all bids to be recieved, and then once accepted come over the top with a bid 5-10 million more. Then pay the player 115k per week. Worked with Owen. Even if this fails you force the successful club to cough out an extra 10m. This eats into their transfer kitty, and effects their ability to comptete for other targtes.
2. Hope archavin breaks his leg or does a cruciate, noone will want him then. Might be able to pick him up on the cheap for the following season.
I prefer option 1.
tapir
Jun 26, 2008 at 4:33 AM
Comment #9pls stop all this story of Arshavin…its very very unlikely for him to come to Toon especially when he clearly mention he LOVES Barca! Not even close to EPL.
And its seems Ahmat Bulut have started it again by claiming TUran will definitely got to Seria A.
darn darn
i may be slow but there is somebody who is more slower ever ever ever after!!
xfer
Jun 26, 2008 at 4:46 AM
Comment #10I would pay that amount any day if he wants to come.
Luka costs more didnt he?
Hadrian
Jun 26, 2008 at 4:48 AM
Comment #11gonna end up at chelski . roman loves his eastern european toys and this one has a few years left in him to boot !
Tom Mo.
Jun 26, 2008 at 6:23 AM
Comment #12Hey everyone, kinda new to football, from North Carolina, USA. Just got into things with Euro 2008 and stuff. Really fell in love with Arshavins game, and after deciding to follow Newcastle after some research, would be thrilled if he would come. I’m just reading in to how things work in the league (I’m used to NFL, etc) but help is welcome, and jokes and jabs are also welcome hahahah. Proud to join Toon.
markb
Jun 26, 2008 at 6:37 AM
Comment #13lol, I see some of us geordies still think we’re in the champions league and can attract players like this… have a word with yourselves.. why would he come to us? man u, arse, & chelsea have probably bid for him..we havent even entertained the idea. We cant exactly sell our club to him.. Owen hasnt signed and has hinted to being off (depending on who we sign) Oba could be off, milner, Emre, NZog could all be gone by the beginning of the season.. we aint gonna compete for players like this for a while yet. if the club cant keep the quality ones we’ve got what make you think we can attract players of this calibre?
The Entertainers
Jun 26, 2008 at 7:28 AM
Comment #14Lessons need to learned here. We seem to have scouts who can identify players of real quality. However the speed in which we deal with transfers needs to be looked at. We cant compete with the top 20! clubs in Europe anymore, but we can pick the pace up a bit.
Look at Spurs if they had not signed Modric before the Euros do you think they would stand a chance now! Imo i dont, he had a very good tournament and surely one of the real big clubs would have been interested.
Like them or loath them, their are lesson Newcastle could learn from Spurs.
Nobby's Dad
Jun 26, 2008 at 7:55 AM
Comment #15He was NEVER going to go to a club that was not playing Champions League football,despite statements in Jan that we were after him and him saying he was aware of Newcastle IMO it was a non-starter.
Hammy
Jun 26, 2008 at 7:55 AM
Comment #16I don’t think he is that good, certainly not the next Beardsley, if Pedro was a 21 year old playing these days he’d cost about £50 million.
Arshavin looks lightweight and probably another Tomasson, i.e he’ll play well for someone else.
Wezside
Jun 26, 2008 at 7:58 AM
Comment #17To be honest, i’m not too fussed about Turan now – he seems a little overated to me. While im unhappy about AA, theres nothing we can do about it, and what happens happens. I’m sure there are plenty more useful players out there for far less.
PETE
Jun 26, 2008 at 8:02 AM
Comment #18WELLCOME Tom Mo its nice to see you folks from america are choosing to support a decent team,instead of the usual Man utd or Chelsea,up the toon Tom Mo
The Entertainers
Jun 26, 2008 at 8:10 AM
Comment #19I am not to bothered about particular names coming to Newcastle……I’ve never said, oh we must get Turan in.
However i think Newcastle are desperate for certain types of players.
This is just my opinion of course, but i believe we need 2 fast tricky wingers, LB, CD or 2, DM, and its vital we get a creative midfielder/foward and a target man up front.
Like i say i’m not to bothered whether its Asharvin or who ever, but its great to see us linked with the little Russian and VDV as these are the type of players i think we need in the creative department.
So even if we dont end up with these star names and i think its very unlikely, there will be others.
Remember so called unfashionable clubs can recruit players of star quality or potential:
PSG: Ronaldiniho
Hamburg: VDV & Kompany
W.Bremen: Diego
Blackburn: Santa Cruz.
I dare say there are countless other clubs too.
DURhamTOON
Jun 26, 2008 at 8:19 AM
Comment #20Tom Mo- Welcome to the fold mate… We’ll all have more of an idea of how well we’ll do in this season after Newcastle have signed a few players. I hope we have a good season for your sake!! Basically don’t worry about winning the league but even then there’s plenty to play for, by the end we could be challenging for UEFA Cup places (European Club Competition) or even the FA Cup (English Football Association Cup). So you never know if Arshavin does decide to play for us next season (unlikely but I still hope so) we may be in for a good one!!!!
staffsmag
Jun 26, 2008 at 8:42 AM
Comment #21Tom Mo – welcome to the toon army! A wise choice if you are prepared for an emtional roller coaster!!! Lol. Only joking we are the geordie, the geordie boot boys and we are mental and we are mad …….
ronaldeano
Jun 26, 2008 at 8:56 AM
Comment #22We are the loyalist football supporters, the world has ever had!!!
Mark Toon
Jun 26, 2008 at 8:56 AM
Comment #23Not so bothered if we did not get him purely based on the the Euros as mistakes are made. For instance based on the Euros I would buy Tuncay and forget Ronaldo!
Arda on the left and Lennon on the right with a new target man get me thinking of Ginola Gillespie and Ferdinand………….
Davey G
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:04 AM
Comment #24Tom-mo, you mad mad mad mad person!! Welcome aboard the Toon Army Caboose!!
By the end of the season you will have had three nervous breakdowns, come close to divorce on numerous occasions, spent an absolute fortune on Toon Merch, learned 200 more new swear words, but most of all…….had the time of your life, supporting the best team in the land!!!!
Toon Toon!!!
geordiegraham
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:10 AM
Comment #25Black and White Army!!!!!!!!!!
geordiegraham
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:11 AM
Comment #26newcastle united we’ll never be defeated!
HeronMag
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:11 AM
Comment #27Tom Mo – Welcome American brother.
Prepare for frustration, anxiety and depression.
Enjoy thrills, victories and amazing goals.
And if you just happen to be a multi-billionaire perhaps you wouldn’t mind investing a few dollars for KKs transfer warchest!?
ToonKing
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:17 AM
Comment #28Tom-Mo, your a brave man 😀
class one, quick course: Sunderland are scum, Tottenham are scum, Man Utd are scum, Middlesbrough is bad. you can call these : plonkers, unwashed, wankers, mentals, nutters.
Newcastle are the biggest club after the top 4, if anyone decides to contest that you can say that we have the bigger stadium, revenue and fan base, also that we played more in the champ. league then they ever will.
your on your way now 😀
geordiegraham
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:24 AM
Comment #29have you ever seen a mackem in milan: a ps3 for £5 ur kiddin rnt u a bought mine for 500 nd odd quid a want to know aswell lol
Leo
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:26 AM
Comment #30bloody agents
shearer
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:26 AM
Comment #31I also think it was always unlikely we could have got him even in january but even if we had whos to say he wouldnt be off now anyway. THe big clubs would still come sniffing after the tournament and he’d likely have his head turned. I reckon zhirkovs agent is just chancing his arm, hes been nowhere near as high profile as AA and when the dust settles, id be surprised if he goes for 16
Couldnt care less about Arda, hes talented but hes not in the class of AA or modric
shearer
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:35 AM
Comment #32Also, maybe we should be looking at players who arent involved in the euros as they have maybe dropped off the radar of the big clubs for the time being, someone mentioned Deigo earlier, he’d be a great buy – again obviously he may be a bit too big a player for us given we have no euro etc.. to offer but atleast we might have a chance while everyone else is looking at arseshavings and VDV etc..
Get in Tom-Mo, welcome to the Toon
Ericles
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:43 AM
Comment #33Some sensible things said on this subject. We are not, as a club, a place players want to come to. We do not appeal to mercenaries. We are seen as an arena for cast offs. Foreign players do not understand our geography and history – that is why the likes of Portsmouth, Wigan, Spurs and Villa have appeal. It is ignorance and greed that clouds the vision of many players. To me I think we will get players in and these will be the likes of bench warmers Dawson, Lennon, Chimbonda, etc etc, with a sprinkling of good younger talent. Forget the journeymen. Give the likes of Kazenga, Tozer, etc their chances. I would like the Swiss striker in though. I say it again that Ashley etc may be good entrepreneurs in the sports goods world but that does not make them up to scratch in the dog eat dog world of football transfers. If they knew then Wise-arse would not be at NUFC. It is a typical SSDD is it not?
Toontime
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:43 AM
Comment #34Well, I for one (and I know I’m not the only one) am now officially sick of all the talk and no action. I’ve always thought that managers who come out and say “Yes, I’m interested in this player and that player” are giving the fans what they want.
I know it may not be the normal way to do things but I’d love to hear Keegan come out and give us a list of 3 or 4 players who is actively persuing so we know the standard/type of player we are interested in. I have a lot of confidence in KK and I’m sure he will come up with the goods but it’s got to be sooner rather than later. When the players return to training, wouldn’t it be great to see a couple of new faces amongst them.
Come on KK. Let us know what is going on!!!
Stami
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:44 AM
Comment #35Just found this on SkySports.
thought it might be relevant, as NUFC are now following the Arsenal blueprint.
Cesc Fabregas told Catalunya Radio: “A club like Barca should show a bit more respect to the intimacy of a club like Arsenal that never make a lot of noise (over transfers) and who always try to do things properly.
“In the last few weeks it’s come out that Barca are in for at least seven Arsenal players and there’s no need for that.
“These things cause doubts in the mind of the players and unsettle us.
“Arsenal do things differently, always in secret, and that’s much more normal.
“They shouldn’t do things so that everybody knows about it. If the player wants to go he’ll go anyway.”
maybe why we have not heard too much bout possible transfers
Hadrian
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:47 AM
Comment #36Barcelona have bid for him .
turan’s agent says he will be in italy next season aswell .
time to knock these on the head and move on , to slow on both fronts .
HeronMag
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:48 AM
Comment #37Good post Stami –
We have to remember the code of practice within football is supposed to ensure secrecy in transfer negotiations. We all know that this doesn’t often happen in reality but it is meant to.
I’m still faithful KK will surprise us all 🙂
Maybe in being too optimistic haha!
leeg123
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:52 AM
Comment #38we shud get arda just becoz arshavin has sowed off abit doesnt mean he should steal the limelight arda has got the quality we need so heres to hoping we sign him.
NUFCAl
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:55 AM
Comment #39Might as well just stop reporting on Arshavin now Ed – we have absolutely no chance.
Only thing we can hope for is a Keegan miracle, and we won’t get that because Bloody Wise is doing it all.
Ross
Jun 26, 2008 at 9:57 AM
Comment #40FAO have you ever seen a mackem in milan: any pub or dodgy street corner in liverpool.