Russian defender Viktor Alexandrov has spoken of his ‘dream’ to play in England, and in particular for his beloved Liverpool.
The 21-year-old gave an interview to Sport 24 in which he revealed that he’s not the only member of his family who supports the Reds and made public his desire for his career to take him to these shores.
The FC Pari Nizhny Novgorod centre-back said: “I was, as I am, for Liverpool. My dream is to go to England. My godfather is a football fan, he supported Spartak and Liverpool. I have always been somehow closer to the British.”
Alexandrov’s love for Liverpool was also laid bare with his admission that ‘a tear came’ after Jurgen Klopp’s side lost the 2016 Europa League final to Sevilla, while he was ‘upset’ over the unravelling of the Premier League title pursuit two years previously during Brendan Rodgers’ reign.
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The 6 foot 3 defender has been good enough to win three caps for Russia at under-21 level, while he also had a brief taste of Europa Conference League football with his previous club Valmiera (Transfermarkt).
However, in saying that he ‘would like to go to Belgium, Holland [or] Austria’ as he eyes a move to a more westerly European league (Sport 24), he appears to be realistic in expecting that he’ll likely have to work his way up another few rungs of the ladder before eliciting any true interest from Liverpool.
We have previously seen players earn a move to Anfield after impressing in the Russian top flight – Martin Skrtel being one prime example – and Alexandrov may well see the Slovakian as a role model to try and emulate in chasing his ‘dream’ of playing for the Reds.
The 21-year-old is still inexperienced, with fewer than 50 senior appearance to his name across Russia and Latvia (Transfermarkt), so any prospect of fulfilling his ultimate ambition still seems some way off.
However, if he can earn a move to a club playing at a higher level and perform well there, it might yet lead him on the path towards one day pulling on a Liverpool shirt as a player as well as a supporter.
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