Manchester United winger Nani is being rumoured to be on the verge of joining Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg for £25million after being pushed out slightly at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese winger has fallen behind Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young and new signing Shinji Kagawa in the pecking order and failed to agree a new contract in the summer after admitting that he felt unwanted by the 19-times English champions.
The Russian champions stunned the footballing world earlier in the week by splashing out around £70million on midfielder Alex Witsel from Benfica and striker Hulk from Porto, but it seems that their spending spree isn’t over yet.
They are also reported to be interested in Arsenal midfielder Andrey Arshavin and Tottenham target Joao Moutinho, who turned down a move to White Hart Lane last Friday citing personal terms.
Many may ask why Nani would want to leave one of the world’s best club sides and top leagues to play somewhere which isn’t as widely followed around the world, but it may well prove to be a good move for the 25-year old after a tough six months in the North West of England.
Zenit have shown with their recent signings that they are looking to become one of Europe’s top sides and are willing to spend whatever it takes to bring in the biggest and best players possible.
If Nani were to move to Eastern Europe he would be one of the biggest names in the Russian League and would most probably be an ever-present for Luciano Spalletti’s side; something which he certainly can’t count on whilst with the Red Devils.
He is currently preparing for Portugal’s game in Luxembourg on Friday night and will have to move fast before the window shuts at 9pm BST if he is to join the 2008 UEFA Cup winners.
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