Chelsea are still aiming to agree a deal for Russian international midfielder Arsen Zakharyan despite difficulties in completing a transfer in the summer, according to reports in London.
Zakharyan, 19, appeared set to make a switch to the Premier League from current club Dynamo Moscow in August, only for a deal to collapse at the last minute.
Reports stated that the main issue was agreeing the payment of the €15 million ($14.75 million) transfer fee for Zakharyan, amid stringent UK financial sanctions imposed on Russia because of the conflict in Ukraine.
According the London Evening Standard, Chelsea are “refusing to give up” on the deal ahead of the reopening of the transfer window in January.
“Chelsea are ready to meet his release clause ahead of a January transfer but are yet to find a breakthrough in their talks,” wrote the Standard’s Chelsea reporter, Nizaar Kinsella.
The report claims that previous negotiations fell through “due to FIFA and UEFA restrictions on signing Russian players” – although Dynamo Moscow board member Dmitry Gafin said last month that the issue was financial.
“There wasn’t enough time – from the moment the offer was received until the window closed – to resolve the technical issue,” said Gafin.
“It’s not just about the [English] FA – in fact, the federation receives instructions from the clubs, and then there’s Barclays bank, which should credit this money to our account.”
It was claimed that Chelsea and Dynamo have a “verbal agreement” to resurrect the deal – but Gafin warned that the young playmaker had also attracted interest from other major European clubs.
Additionally, there were rumors that Zakharyan was looking to obtain Armenian citizenship in the hopes that this would smooth a potential path to London, although that speculation was dismissed by the Armenian football authorities.
Zakharyan is regularly included in lists of the world’s brightest young football prospects.
He has been capped four times by the Russian senior national team, becoming the country’s youngest-ever outfield player when making his debut in a World Cup qualifying match against Croatia in Moscow last September.
At senior club level, Zakharyan has made 64 appearances for Dynamo Moscow, scoring 15 times and providing 19 assists.
The teenager was on the scoresheet on Saturday as Dynamo earned a 3-1 win over crosstown rivals Lokomotiv Moscow.