Sometimes a potential deal catches your eye for all the wrong reasons, and Malcom’s move to Zenit Saint Petersburg is one of them.
The Brazilian is out of favour at Barcelona and wants to move somewhere he’s going to get more minutes and the football he craves.
He’s been linked with sides in Europe’s top leagues all summer, with Everton looking like a potential destination for most of this transfer window.
However, the latest reports suggest he’s on the way to Russia to join Zenit St Petersburg and Mundo Deportivo explain what’s going on today.
They say that while the two clubs are negotiating for the player reports of a deal being done are wide of the mark. In fact, the two parties are still ‘far away’ from an agreement, and ‘definitive details’ are still missing.
It’s worth noting there are several claims right now of a done deal.
Barca want €41m, which is what they paid for him, but Zenit would prefer to pay €30m plus bonuses, including a potential future sale clause. There is no chance of a loan move happening.
Zenit are not the only interested party, with Everton said to be ‘on the prowl’ while Borussia Dortmund are also keen, but neither of those clubs have put in a formal bid.
Whether that changes remains to be seen but the duo may be best turning their attention elsewhere. It seems Zenit are offering big money to Malcom personally and the fact that the agent’s commission is even mentioned as part of the negotiations shows they’re making good money from this deal as well.
His agent was the one who pushed Malcom to Barcelona over Roma last season, again presumably because of the better money on offer, and it’s not worth getting mixed up in those sort of issues.
