In recent years, Zenit has secured the image of the Brazilian RPL team itself. In the championship line-up of Semak in the last season, there were seven representatives of this country: Douglas Santos, Renan, Rodrigao, Wendel, Claudinho, Mantuan and Malcolm. There was also goalkeeper Ivan, but he was used only in the Cup.

Judging by the latest transfer news, the club’s purchase vector will remain the same. Zenit have already signed a contract with one newcomer from Brazil, bought the transfer of Mantuan and intend to acquire another young talent. The formed course of the Petersburgers speaks of a well-thought-out club policy aimed at finding promising players with a view to their subsequent profitable sale. Leading clubs in Portugal have been following this path for many years, having established a profitable business for a long time.

Porto and Benfica are role models

Hulk / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Alexey Danichev

At one time, Zenit shocked Russia with a double purchase from the Portuguese championship, signing Hulk and Witsel for record amounts. Now Zenit obviously want to play the role of Porto and Benfica themselves. The Portuguese giants have long established scout networks in South America and strong ties with local agents. Careful market scanning minimizes the risk of error, and clubs end up with hungry talent, for whom Portugal is an excellent springboard on the way to the top leagues.

A rare transfer window for Porto and Benfica goes by without a €30m+ sale. In the past decade alone, these clubs have generated hundreds of millions in transfer proceeds. The most iconic sales are especially impressive when compared to the sums for which the South Americans were bought. For example, Porto bought Luis Diaz from the Colombian Junior for only 7 million, and sold it to Liverpool for almost seven times more. A similar story was with Eder Militao, who in just a year grew many times in price: they bought for 7 million, and Real Madrid already paid 50 million for him.

Benfica prefers to act a little differently, but also remains in the black. The club acquires elite youth, for which it can lay out both 30 and 40 million, and then more than beats off all costs. Last summer, the Eagles forked out 44 million for Enzo Fernandez: the Argentine lit up at the World Cup and six months later Chelsea agreed to pay 120 million for him. Uruguayan Darwin Nunes moved to Benfica from the Spanish second division for 34 million, and in As a result, his transfer to Liverpool replenished the treasury of Lisbon by 80 million euros.

Search for talent with the prospect of sale is also well established in the Netherlands and Belgium. Judging by the latest transfer windows, they decided to try out the same model in St. Petersburg. Zenit is now cautious about spending, and purchases at the level of Malcolm and Wendel are a thing of the past. A year ago, the club was more concerned with retaining foreign leaders rather than finding high-priced newcomers.

The Yuri Alberto Factor

Yuri Alberto / Photo: © NurPhoto / Contributor / NurPhoto / Gettyimages.ru

The only Brazilian who could not be kept in Russia was striker Yuri Alberto – Zenit’s latest expensive purchase at the moment. The football player, who cost the club 25 million, chose to return to his homeland and threw problems not only to Semak, but also to agents who had been establishing a contract with Zenit for several years.

Alberto’s decision set off a chain of events that ultimately led to a change in the transfer vector. If other Russian teams foreigners simply used the FIFA rules and left the clubs without any compensation, then this trick did not work with Zenit.

Alberto went to Corinthians, and the Brazilian club gave goalkeeper Ivan and winger Mantuan to Zenit as compensation. It was only the first gesture of good will, and already in the winter a player of a completely different level arrived in St. Petersburg – the defender of the Brazilian youth team Robert Renan.

Already, the 19-year-old player is estimated at 10 million, and in one or two seasons it will be possible to get a completely different amount for his transfer. A promising defender was on the pencil of many European clubs even before moving to Russia. Semak is confident that Renan will not stay at Zenit for a long time due to his level and focus on a European career.

Do Queiroz / Photo: © FC Zenit

The relationship between Zenith and Corinthians did not end there. Another Brazilian, 23-year-old central midfielder Du Queiroz, became the first foreign summer rookie of St. Petersburg. They agreed on his transfer back in the winter, and he joined Zenit this week. Du Queiroz was taken as a possible alternative to Wendel, who could leave the club in the summer.

As a result, instead of one Yuri Alberto, Zenit received three young players at once. Mantua showed up well as a joker, Renan immediately staked out a place in the center of defense paired with Rodrigo, and Du Queiroz has yet to prove himself. The age of all the guys is excellent for growth in the RPL and increasing their own capitalization, which in the future can bring significant benefits to Zenit.

Zenit target potential superstar

Pedro Enrique Silva dos Santos / Photo: © SC Corinthians Paulista

There is a high probability that the Brazilian expansion will not stop at the mentioned players. In recent days, Zenit is seriously considering the possibility of signing another Corinthians player. In this story, the analogies with Porto and Benfica are most appropriate, because Zenit have set their sights on one of the main talents of the Brazilian championship – 17-year-old winger Pedrinho.

Several factors speak at once about the stellar potential of a teenager. The guy is already playing for the youth team under 20, where most of the partners are much older. From the age of 16, he has been involved in the training of the Corinthians base and managed to play eight matches for the club. In Europe, he is closely watched by Ajax, PSV and Borussia Dortmund, who know a lot about young talents.

Thanks to the exclusive relationship between Corinthians and Zenit, the Russian club has a priority right to buy a player. Brazilian media report that in recent days the parties have made significant progress in negotiations, and the transfer amount should be 12 million euros, although the release clause in the player’s contract is 10 times higher. At the same time, Zenit will own only 50% of the rights to the player – for Brazil, this is a common practice when the rest of the rights remain with the current club and agent.

If Zenit manages to negotiate a transfer, the young star will only be in St. Petersburg next winter, when he turns 18. Real Madrid had similar cases: Madrid booked the rights to Vinicius and Rodrigo in advance, waiting for them to come of age. If Pedrinho turns out to be as good as they say at home, Zenit will get a real diamond.