Blues out of Arshavin race
05 Jul 2008 - 16:15:37
Andrei Arshavin's agent has claimed that Chelsea have ended their interest in signing the highly-rated Russia international.
The Blues were believed to be leading the race to sign the 27-year-old playmaker from Zenit St Petersburg following his impressive showing at Euro 2008.
Reports had claimed Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich was desperate to lure him to London in a £20million deal.
However, Arshavin's agent, Dennis Lachter, has suggested their interest has waned following the previous capture of Portugal midfielder Deco from Barcelona.
"I don't believe that, after this acquisition of Deco, the club have retained their interest in Arshavin," he told Russian media.
However, Lachter still believes his client will be playing in one of Europe's major leagues next season despite the current uncertainty.
"Zenit want to get at least 30million euros and foreign clubs have offered no more than 20million euros," he continued.
"The situation is not at an impasse though.
"The transfer period only ends on August 31 and clubs are only just beginning to be proactive in the transfer market."