Liverpool and Chelsea given timescale on Russian wonderkid by club’s director

The chasing pack for Russian wonderkid Arsen Zakharyan, which includes Liverpool and Chelsea, have been given a timescale by his club’s director.

TEAMtalk exclusively revealed on Tuesday that the reigning European champions, along with Manchester City, are at the front of the hunt. Jurgen Klopp’s Reds have also been heavily linked with the 18-year-old.

But when questioned about a rumoured £13m bid from Anfield, Sergey Stepashin, a member of Dynamo Moscow’s board of directors, dismissed his exit.

Stepashin told KP Sport (via Sport Witness): “No, these are agent games. He is still a young man. He still has to grow and grow.

“I believe that Arsen can play in Russia for another two to three years. Time must pass for a footballer to succeed.

“And when he turns 21, it’s just right. Look, almost no one plays well abroad from our country now. Maybe only Golovin.”

By the time Zakharyan reaches the age of 21, his current contract with Dynamo will have very nearly expired.

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So keeping him until that age could see them lose out on a big fee for the young midfielder. Next summer would be the ideal time to sell if no new agreement is reached.

A whole host of top European clubs are lining up for him. Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Roma and Inter Milan are just a few of them.

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Since slotting into the first team picture Zakharyan has seriously impressed. He bagged three goals and five assists in 13 league appearances last season.

And this campaign has been a very similar story so far. In the same amount of games he has scored two and set up six goals from the middle of the park.

As Stepashin alluded too, Aleksandr Golovin is the only major Russian to be playing in a top European league. He left CSKA Moscow in a £27m move to Monaco in 2018.

Reds ready Isak offer

Meanwhile, Liverpool are ready to make an offer to sign Real Sociedad striker Alexander Isak in January, according to El Nacional.

The Reds are readying an offer which could hit £34m for the forward, who was interesting Barcelona. Sweden international Isak has a huge €90m release clause, but Sociedad know that figure will be almost impossible to get. 

The 22-year-old is on a long contract until 2026 with the LaLiga side and the buyout clause tells you how highly he is rated in San Sebastian.

Isak is predominantly a No.9 and the report suggests Jurgen Klopp is looking for a different option from his current forward line.

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