Sitting pretty: Akinfeev felt at home between the
sticks at Old Trafford
Igor Akinfeev is understood to have opened talks over a
move to Manchester
United after impressing for CSKA Moscow
against the Barclays Premier League champions.
The Russia goalkeeper's representatives met officials from the
Old Trafford club this week with a January move on the agenda.
United have scouted a number of keepers amid concerns that Ben
Foster and Tomasz Kuszczak are not ready to step into Edwin van der
Sar's shoes.
The Dutch veteran is expected to announce soon that this season
will be his last. United boss Sir Alex Ferguson praised Akinfeev
after both Champions League matches against CSKA - a 1-0 United win
Moscow and a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford. But the Scot has refused to
confirm United's pursuit of the 23-year-old.
Akinfeev also says he is paying little attention to reports
linking him to United, but that does not stop him speaking in
glowing terms about his potential employers.
Despite holding a two-goal lead in Manchester on Tuesday, he was
still happy with the draw.
'We are satisfied,' he said. 'Not every team scores three goals
at Old Trafford. At 3-1, of course you need to think about winning,
but we have to be realistic. We played one of the best clubs in
world football.
'Moreover, they had the crazy support of 74,000 fans who drove
the team forward.
Not this time: Akinfeev reacted quickly to deny
Michael Owen a second goal
'How often have I seen United home games where in the
last minutes they're not winning and they practically always score.
Unfortunately, this was no different in our match.
'They were coming at us with some crazy energy in the last 10
minutes. Even in our memorable match against Arsenal (a 0-0 draw in
2006), when the Londoners had lots of chances in the last 10
minutes, we stepped up.'
Akinfeev clearly enjoyed playing in the Old Trafford atmosphere
and has spoken in the past about his love of English football
grounds.
In contrast, he dislikes how the Luzhniki Stadium, CSKA's
temporary home, is often two-thirds empty and has a running track
between the fans and the action.
CSKA have signalled they are likely to cash in on some of their
stars if they fail to progress from their Champions League group
and finish outside the top three in the Russian League.
Fallen short: Kuszczak (left) and Foster have not
reached Van der Sar's standards
They are fifth domestically and would not stand in the
way of star players seeking opportunities at bigger clubs, but they
would seek more than £10million for Akinfeev.
New CSKA boss Leonid Slutskiy praised Akinfeev's performance at
Old Trafford. 'This is a rare case when a goalkeeper concedes three
goals, but, for me, is the man of the match.'
Akinfeev has 37 caps and a Euro 2008 semi-final outing with
Russia, as well as three League titles, four Russian Cups and the
2005 UEFA Cup with CSKA.
He is constantly compared to the great Lev Yashin and has won
the goalkeeper of the year award named after the Soviet legend four
times.
