We reported last week that Portugal international Danny was supposedly causing some slight interest from the Liverpool camp. While we dismissed the Daily Express‘ rumour as complete rubbish, it got us thinking, there could be something of an uncharted goldmine in the Russian Premier League for potential signings.
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The 31-year-old moved to the Russian leagues in 2010 from Sporting Lisbon for a sizeable fee, but is available on a free, with Zenit St. Petersburg reportedly wanting to get him off the wage bill. Danny racked up eight assists and scored three from his 25 starts this season and could make a decent little addition.
Here are five other players that have grabbed our attention:
5) Solomon Kvirkvelia (Rubin Kazan, CB)
This 23-year-old defender has become a regular for Kazan this season, playing 32 times. He’s also won eight caps on the international stage with Georgia. If he can continue his recent rise then he might be one to look at again next summer. Although to be fair, we wouldn’t like to have to try and spell his name every week…
4) Roman Eremenko (CSKA Moscow, RWB)
We’re in need of a right-back, with Glen Johnson having gone and Jon Flanagan likely to be out for another year. If we fail with a bid for Nathaniel Clyne, then maybe we should consider this 28-year-old Finland international. He’s a midfielder by trade, which is where’s he played for CSKA, but he’d be the ideal man to play at wing-back.
3) Mathieu Valbuena (Dynamo Moscow, CM)
If we’re on the lookout for a stop-gap solution to Steven Gerrard leaving, someone who can come in and fill a gap for a year or so, then maybe we should consider this experience French international. The 30-year-old has been capped on 46 occasions and joined Moscow from Marseille last summer. He’s played 25 times, scoring four goals.
2) Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow, AM)
The 24-year-old first shot to prominence with his goals at Euro 2012. He’s since won 43 caps for Russia, scoring eight times. But it’s for CSKA where he’s shone most regularly – scoring 41 times in 165 league games. A versatile attacking midfielder who is still only 24, his arrival would be an extremely exciting prospect.
1) Salomon Rondon (Zenit Saint Petersburg, ST)
The most pressing issue for our team right now is of course up front. The 25-year-old helped guide Zenit to the title this season, scoring 20 goals in 36 league games after joining from Rubin Kazan, and is threatening to become the latest South American superstar. The Venezuela would be a fine addition to our strikeforce next season.
