Sunderland are the latest English club to miss out on signing Eduard Spertsyan.
Last summer, Southampton made an offer, but FC Krasnodar’s owner Sergey Galitsky had blocked his exit. At that time, this didn’t please his agent and shared his anger towards the Russian club.
Leeds United had also looked at the 26-year-old in the winter market but a move never materialised. In March, he talked about his failed moves to St Mary’s and Elland Road.
Sunderland have joined both the Saints and the Whites in failing to sign the attacking midfielder, who moved to Al-Ahli earlier this month.
Sunderland owner led signing pursuit
That’s according to journalist Anar Ibrahimov, and he covers about the Black Cats on his Telegram channel, relayed by Sportaran.
Last season, the Armenia international starred for FC Krasnodar, scoring 14 goals and contributing 18 assists from 42 matches.
This would have caught Sunderland’s attention and especially their owner, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.
According to Ibrahimov, the Premier League side’s owner seriously considered bringing him to the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland didn’t contact Russian club
Anar Ibrahimov claims Régis Le Bris’ side had contacted Eduard Spertsyan’s family and expressed their willingness to offer €20m to secure his services.
Vadim Ohanyan represents the Armenia international but Swiss agent Christoph Grafe led Sunderland’s negotiations in May.
The salary offered by the English club was ‘significantly more modest’ than the one he’s now earning in Saudi Arabia. However, that didn’t bother the player, which indicates he was open to joining Sunderland.
However, the Black Cats never had direct talks with the Russian club. The journalist claims the move was ‘hindered by circumstances not directly related to football’, without going into the details.
Al-Ahli signed Spertsyan for €21m and have offered him a four-year contract.
Key transfer points
- Southampton and Leeds United missed out in last 2 windows
- Louis-Dreyfus was serious about signing him for Black Cats
- Sunderland negotiated with Spertsyan but not with Krasnodar
- Armenina joined Al-Ahli in July
