According to the ever reliable Tony Barrett, Liverpool are interested in signing FK Rostov’s Iranian forward Sardar Azmoun.
Twitter: Liverpool are tracking FC Rostov forward Sardar Azmoun. At this stage he’s being watched as they consider their options ahead of January. (@TonyBarrett)
Who? I hear you ask. Good question, as prior to Tony’s tweet, I for one, had never heard of the guy!
However he has been dubbed “The Iranian Messi”, so he must be good, right?
Allow me to investigate.
Sardar Azmoun was born on 1st January 1995 in Iran, making him 21 at the moment but 22 by the time the transfer window comes around, should Liverpool still be interested in him.
Azmoun started his career in Iran but never played a professional game there, and after impressing for Iran’s international youth teams, was transferred from Sepahan to Rubin Kazan in January 2013.
After not making much of an impact that season, Azmoun broke into the first team the next season, scoring 5 goals in 17 games that season, earning him his first links to the Premier League and Europe’s other big leagues in the summer of 2014.
The following season Azmoun didn’t have as much of an impact at Kazan, and was subsequently loaned out to strugglers FK Rostov for three months, eventually scoring the winning goal in a relegation play off to keep them up.
Extending his loan until the end of 2016, Azmoun was then instrumental in an unlikely season for Rostov which saw them finish second in the league and qualify for the Champions League, scoring nine goals in the process.
John Bradley, who has watched a lot more Russian football than me, agrees with the hype.
Twitter: Very few ‘gems’ have come out of Russia in recent years but Azmoun is the most exciting talent there. A rough diamond but huge potential (@JBcommentator)
On the international scene Azmoun is coached by former Manchester United assistant Carlos Queiroz, and has an impressive record of 16 goals in 22 games for his country.
At 6 ft 1 inches, Azmoun is no pushover, so a combination of technical ability and physical size may see him blossom into a top class player in the future. Will that be with Liverpool?
Who knows?
