Eduard Spertsyan has been linked with a move to Leeds United over the past 24 hours, with it suggested the Krasnodar midfielder could switch to Elland Road in a deadline day move.
It’s prompted some chatter in the Russian sports media, with various pundits happy to share their opinion and not all of them positively.
Dmitri Radchenko is a former Russia international who had spells with multiple Spanish clubs including Racing Santander and Deportivo La Coruna.
He believes that Spertsyan has shown enough with Krasnodar to be deserving of a move higher up than England’s second division, even if Leeds United are well placed to be promoted to the Premier League this season.
Championat quote the former footballer as saying: “Spertsyan has been showing good football for the second year and is the leader of Krasnodar. Therefore, he deserves more than a transfer to a team from the second division of England.
“If Eduard moves to Leeds, which is currently in first place, no one can guarantee him a place in the starting lineup, because they are doing well and have a starting lineup. And you need to understand that this is the Championship, and the Premier League is a completely different football. It will be very difficult for him there.
“I don’t know about Spertsyan’s move to Napoli and Atalanta, which are the leaders of the Italian championship. The Italian and Spanish championships will suit Eduard’s playing style, but I have big questions about England.”
Spertsyan has himself revealed he’s had offers from clubs in west Europe in the current market, but he appears to believe he’ll be staying where he is at least until the summer.
In quotes carried by SovSport, he said there’d even been transfer talks on a club to club level but he didn’t mention Leeds United directly and said he’s set to stay where he is for another six months.