Agent denies Pavlyuchenko has already signed for Zenit

Roman Pavlyuchenko’s agent, Oleg Artemov has denied reports that his client has signed a contract for a move to Zenit St Petersburg in January.

Russian newspapers had suggested Pavlyuchenko had already put pen to paper on a move that would see him return to Russia, but Artemov has insisted those reports are premature.

Zenit still face competition for the out-of-favour Russian from AC Milan, whilst Fulham have also been linked with a move.

Pavlyuchenko has only played 30 minutes of first team football this season, hampered by his competitors form, in addition to number of niggling injuries.

Guus Hiddink, coach for Russia currently, has stated that Pavlyuchenko needs more game time to ensure a spot in Russia’s squad for the World Cup, should they get there via the play-offs.

Pavlyuchenko started the Germany match on Saturday on the bench and is hoping to push for a start against Azerbaijan in Wednesday’s final qualifier, despite having picked up another minor injury.

He said, “I will fly with the team to Baku and hope to play, but a final decision will be made later.

“It seems I have lost the habit of playing synthetics -  the pain in my muscles told me that after Saturday’s match.

“The match between Azerbaijan and Russia will be one of the games of the year. We have already secured second place, but that means nothing. We go to Baku for the victory.”

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