Zenit wins on the transfer field

Crvena Zvezda Belgrade central defender Strahinja Eraković has officially moved to Zenit. The 22-year-old footballer, who has five caps for the Serbian national team, signed an agreement with the club from St. Petersburg according to the 4+1 scheme. The most interesting thing about this transfer is that Erakovic was already ready to buy Spartak, but Zenit intercepted him at the last moment from his principal rival.

The next newcomer of Zenit in the summer transfer window was the promising central defender Strahinja Erakovich. Moreover, a real struggle unfolded for the graduate of Crvena Zvezda and the three-time champion of Serbia in the Russian Premier League, because not only Petersburgers, but also Spartak and Krasnodar showed a very specific interest in him. And if the Kuban failed to agree with Erakovich, the red-whites practically reached the finish line in negotiations with the football player and the Belgrade club.

It was reported that Eraković’s contract with Spartak had already been agreed upon. Its terms, according to unofficial data, suggested that the transfer amount would be €7 million plus 10% of the player’s subsequent resale price, and he would earn about €1 million per year under a 3 + 1 contract. At the same time, for the sake of signing Erakovic, Spartak even seemed to refuse to buy the defender of the London Tottenham and the Colombian national team Davinson Sanchez.

And when all the participants in the deal shook hands, Zenit intervened sharply in the situation.

As it turned out, the St. Petersburg club, by agreement with Red Star, had priority rights to acquire Erakovic and took advantage of this option by blocking the transfer of the Serb to Spartak and making him another offer that he could not refuse.

The red-whites traditionally have friendly relations with the Belgrade team, but the fact is that they have stronger, financial contacts with Zenit. As you know, the sponsor of Red Star Star is Gazprom.

According to Transfermarkt, the Petersburgers bought Erakovic for €8 million. They signed a contract with him under the 4 + 1 scheme with a salary, according to Serbian sources, of just over €1 million a year. The player himself, after the official registration of the transfer, said that he practically did not hesitate, having received an invitation from the champion of Russia. “As soon as the opportunity arose to move to Zenit, I immediately agreed,” Strakhinya Erakovich said in an interview with the press service of the St. Petersburg club.

It is clear that in Spartak they reacted rather painfully to the decision of the Serb to sign a contract with the main competitor. The head of the press service of the red and white Dmitry Zelenov, for example, gave such a comment to the publication “Sport Express” on this occasion: “We need strong and strong-willed players, and we don’t need those who change their minds every day.”

Even earlier, Oleg Malyshev, the new general director of Muscovites, spoke to reporters about the situation with Erakovich, talking to reporters before the start of the season: “We are Spartak. And we want players who want to play in Spartak to play here. If someone wants to play in the “Zenith”, please. Adios!”

In turn, the general director of Zenit Alexander Medvedev, according to “RIA News”noted that “Erakovich’s transfer was made on the basis of a pre-emptive right to equalize with the terms of a competing offer.”

It is interesting that recently the Petersburgers “took away” defender Mario Fernandez from competitors, whom CSKA wanted to return. When the army team had problems with the agent of the Brazilian footballer, Zenit immediately appeared on the horizon with their offer. Another thing is that there are questions regarding the transfers of Fernandez and Erakovic regarding their expediency and necessity for the St. Petersburg club. The Brazilian with a Russian passport, we recall, actually missed almost a year, and it’s not a fact that after such a break in his career he will be able to play at the same high level and win a place in the starting lineup. In addition, Fernandez is no longer young – he will soon turn 33 years old.

With 22-year-old Erakovich, too, not everything is clear. So far, the Serb is only showing promise and is taking only the first steps in the national team.

For example, having got into the application for the World Cup in Qatar, he spent the entire group stage on the bench. So it is not known how Erakovic will be useful to Zenit right now. Moreover, the Petersburgers basically have a complete position of central defenders, despite the fact that they use a tactical scheme with two players of this role. Even with the presence of Robert Renan, Dmitry Chistyakov and Nuraly, Alipa Erakovich may well sit on the bench, and by the end of September he should recover from Rodrigao’s injury. The Serb himself says that he is capable of acting in other defensive positions, but Zenit’s flanks are also covered. There would be the same Fernandez somewhere to attach.

Alexander Ilyin