“Zenit” and “Spartak” are tearing up the RPL star for pitiful money? Pain for Loko

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Lokomotiv Moscow midfielder Maxim Glushenkov became one of the main discoveries of the last Russian championship. His 16 assists are a repeat of the season record, which was previously achieved only by Dmitry Loskov and Hulk. Already, the Loko midfielder is a target for other top clubs. What career development trajectory will the player choose — in the material Sport.

Spartak has a negative imprint
Glushenkov moved to Lokomotiv in January 2023, although his transfer paled against the backdrop of more high-profile acquisitions of the main Russian forward of recent years, Artem Dzyuba, and one of the best young players in the country, Sergei Pinyaev. At that time, the head coach of the Railwaymen, Mikhail Galaktionov, was just looking for a suitable attacking option for the new team, so Maxim was more likely to be supported by more status partners, for example, the same Dziuba, who experienced his next youth in the spring of 2023. Although Glushenkov managed to score five goals and five assists, showing his true potential.

The new season has shown that the midfielder is ready to take a step forward. Maxim not only assisted his teammates more, but also became a real leader of the “red-greens” attack. Against the backdrop of Dzyuba, who had lost his form, Pinyaev, who had fallen into a functional hole, as well as Anton Miranchuk and Rifat Zhemaletdinov, who were unable to solve their contract problems, Glushenkov fully assumed the status of Lokomotiv’s most creative and productive player. The team almost didn’t reach the medals of the Russian Premier League (RPL), but it’s even scary to imagine where the team from Cherkizovo would have ended up if not for the midfielder’s play. Six accurate hits and 16 assists are a grandmaster result, giving Glushenkov the status of one of the stars of the entire league.

Considering the midfielder’s achievements, one would expect rumors about the footballer’s possible departure from Lokomotiv to soon appear. Thus, journalist Ivan Karpov reported the intention of St. Petersburg Zenit and Moscow Spartak to buy Glushenkov for a modest six million euros. According to the insider, this is exactly the amount of compensation specified in Maxim’s agreement with his current club. By the way, this contract is valid for another two and a half years, so Loko’s management should think about revising it in order to protect the main star from leaving.

If we consider the options voiced above, then it is hard to believe in a return to Spartak. Yes, for Maxim, this is, to put it mildly, not a strange club, which, however, never gave him a normal chance. Constant loans, lack of trust, the desire to sell the player somewhere — all this, undoubtedly, left a negative imprint on Glushenkov's career. Spartak is a turned page for me. Sometimes I don't even want to talk about it. I want to forget everything that happened in Spartak as a bad dream,» the player admitted in an interview with Sport24. Spartak, of course, needs to urgently look for a replacement for Quincy Promes, who is mired in problems with the law, but the sports block of the «red-whites», headed by Tomas Amaral, would rather enter the European market in order to get a bigger name than negotiate with a competitor.Did you call Karpin? Go to Zenit
When it comes to talented Russian football players, Zenit traditionally comes up with its colossal capabilities. Petersburgers have long been assigned the status of hunters of all more or less strong domestic players. Probably, everyone who was at least once called up to the Russian national team by Valery Karpin was wooed there. Now it’s Glushenkov’s turn. However, I don’t really believe in this transition, at least not yet. Zenit has long chosen a Latin American direction in its transfer policy, and now the attack of the current champion is replete with the names of Brazilians (Arthur, Pedro, Gustavo Mantuan, Claudinho) and one scoring Colombian (Mateo Cassierra). One of the most talented players of the generation, Andrei Mostovoy, has been trying to get into this company for many years now, but with varying degrees of success. It is very difficult to imagine that Glushenkov will give up VIP status in Cherkizovo in order to regain his youth and again fight for a place in the team.

Despite this, we still need to lay down a certain probability for Glushenkov’s departure . “Football is my job. If a McDonald’s employee didn’t like working there, he would move to KFC. If a person doesn’t like working in one place, why can’t he go to another? The fans have nothing to do with it,” Maxim noted in the conversation with Sport24. Obviously, in the future Glushenkov will be ready to take a new step in his career, but the most important thing is that now everything suits him at Lokomotiv. Therefore, they do not seek good from good.