Tottenham Hotspur reportedly tried to sign Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun from Russian outfit Zenit St. Petersburg but were rebuffed in their attempts.
According to a report from Calciomercato, Tottenham Hotspur made an attempt to sign 26-year-old centre-forward Sardar Azmoun in the summer transfer window but were unsuccessful in their efforts.
Azmoun, having started out his footballing journey in Iran, has spent his entire professional career in Iran. Having joined Rubin Kazan in 2012 and had a stint with Rostov, before returning to Rubin in 2017. Two years later, the striker joined Zenit St. Petersburg in 2019 and has been an ever-present in the side since.
To date, Azmoun has featured 90 times in all competitions for the Russian giants, bagging 58 goals and 20 assists in the process. The Iranian international has started the new season on fire, bagging six goals and an assist in seven games so far.
Azmoun’s capabilities seemingly attracted interest in his services from Tottenham Hotspur this summer. The Lilywhites were in a precarious position with regard to the future of superstar Harry Kane, who was pushing for a transfer to Manchester City. While he eventually decided to stay put, Tottenham still needed another striker in their amidst.
Indeed, manager Nuno Espirito Santo has no other natural centre-forward at his disposal beyond Kane, with Tottenham deciding not to sign last season’s loanee Carlos Vinicius on a permanent deal. A move for the likes of Dusan Vlahovic of Fiorentina as well as Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez had been mooted but nothing materialised.
It has now emerged that Tottenham had also made an attempt to sign Azmoun from Zenit St. Petersburg, but the 26-year-old Iranian international turned them down. Apart from the north Londoners, the likes of AS Roma, Olympique Lyon and Bayer Leverkusen also made offers but were rejected, as confirmed by the striker himself.
Speaking to Soccer RU, Azmoun said: “I had offers from Lyon, Roma, Bayer, and Tottenham. But all the proposals were rejected, this year I will not move anywhere. I never said that I was leaving Zenit. When Lyon made the first offer, Zenit rejected it immediately. I have a contract, even if I wanted to leave, the club will not allow it.”
Tottenham, for their part, seem to have moved on from their interest in Azmoun. A new striker, however, remains a necessity, with the Lilywhites said to be considering a swoop for Torino striker Andrea Belotti in the January transfer window. It will be interesting to see if they fare any better in pursuit of the Italian.
