The head coach of Zenit Sergey Semak said that the club could release Brazilian striker Yuri Alberto on loan.
Earlier it was reported that Alberto could use the permission of the International Football Federation (FIFA) and suspend the contract with the Russian club. On Thursday, Brazilian journalist Samir Carvalho tweeted that Corinthians had made progress in loan negotiations for the 21-year-old.
“We are looking into the situation of a possible substitution so that we can take someone in place of Yuri Alberto and give him the opportunity to play by entering into a loan or counter-loan agreement with one or another player, depending on the proposals. Our leadership in the process of negotiating with the agent, with the player, what he wants, where he would like to spend some time. I think we will find out soon.
– Is the probability that Alberto will play next season at Zenit small?
– No, there is a chance that he will play in the season. How big or not – we’ll see. What will start – today is also there. Now the player’s agent has priority to play for another club for a while.
– How much is this a loss for Zenit? You have always said that one of the main criteria is the player’s desire to play for the club. How do you feel about the fact that Alberto, perhaps, will not start the season at Zenit?
– We respect the decision of each player, whether it is the first or second question. All questions that arise are in a certain negotiation channel. Now there is such a situation that someone has one opinion, someone has another. We are ready to listen to the opinion of any player.
As for his playing characteristics, of course, when they signed a contract with him, his strong qualities were understood. We will miss him, we will have to format it a little, but this is how we work, because the situation is changing very quickly. And this is part of the work of the coaching staff to make some adjustments in order to change the game itself, depending on the qualities of those players who are on the team, ”Match TV quotes Semak.
Alberto has been playing for Zenit since January, his contract is valid until 2027. The forward played 15 matches for the Blue-White-Blues, scored eight goals and became the champion of Russia.
Zenit is one of the participants in the PARI Premier Cup. Also playing in the tournament are PARI NN Nizhny Novgorod, Sochi and CSKA Moscow.
