The agent of Zenit St Petersburg forward Andrei Arshavin
insists he has not yet received any offers for the player, and has
invited Barcelona to make an approach. The 27-year-old has been one
of the stars of Euro 2008 with Russia and has been heavily linked
with a move to one of Europe's top leagues.
Zenit confirmed on Thursday that Barcelona have made an enquiry,
and Arshavin's representative, Dennis Lachter, has urged the
Catalans to turn their interest into a firm offer. "I'd like to
send my regards to (Barca president Joan) Laporta, (technical
secretary) Txiki (Begiristain) and (coach) Pep (Guardiola) and they
already know why," he told Spanish radio station Radio Marca.
"Laporta and Barca have not approached me. They now know who
Arshavin's agent is and I'm ready to listen to offers, but at the
moment there are none."
Arshavin's adventure at the European Championships came to an
end on Thursday following a 3-0 semi-final loss to Spain. Lachter
now expects the offers to come flooding in, but admits his client's
starring role in Russia's unlikely run means it is difficult to put
a price on him.
"After the game I know I'm going to receive a lot of offers for
him," he said. "What's for sure is that we can't talk about his
price, but we hope that it'll be to the liking of the club and the
player."
An inflated price tage could be a stumbling block for Barca, who
have spent heavily this summer to bring in Gerard Pique, Martin
Caceres, Seydou Keita and Daniel Alves.
However, Lachter believes that sporting rather than economic
factors will decide where Arshavin plays. "When he was a kid he
really liked Barca, it's true," he added. "He's a big fan of the
team and if he signed for Barcelona it really would be a dream come
true for him. "Either way, whatever is certain is that he won't be
wearing the Zenit shirt next season."