The RPL season has started a long time ago, the fifth round is already on the nose. Championships have also started in England, Germany, France, Turkey, Spanish and Italian draws will begin at the weekend. The pre-season is over, the players have gotten in shape, and a number of Russian free agents still can’t find a team.

Among the players without a club is the most popular and currently the most expensive free agent in Russia, Artem Dzyuba. The striker left Zenit in the summer after the end of the contract, and no one had any doubts that he would quickly find the club and play more than ever. But no matter how. Numerous rumors about moving to Turkish clubs have subsided, and Dzyuba himself keeps in shape at Leonid Slutsky’s Rubin.

When will Artem find a new home? And who else besides him is still without a club?

Photo: © Evgeny Vasiliev / FC Zenit

“I called Dziuba, he didn’t pick up the phone”

Apparently, Artem has offers from Russia, but he is in no hurry to consider them. For example, the president of Ural, Grigory Ivanov, said this week:

– I called Dziuba, he did not pick up the phone. I wanted to discuss one thing with him. He was once asked about the “Ural”, and he answered something like: “God forbid.” I wanted to talk to him about it: I called, wrote to him. But he didn’t answer. I wanted to know, maybe he was here, he knows something that we don’t know, ”Match TV quotes Ivanov.

It seems that the functionary is disingenuous and wants to offer something to Dziuba. However, there is a feeling that the 33-year-old striker simply does not want to play in Russia and pulls to the last. But where to pull? Fenerbahce has repeatedly denied interest in the striker, Galatasaray is also silent. And there are no new details of a possible transfer anywhere. Will it remain in Rubin and conquer the First League? The tandem of two friends – Dzyuba and Slutsky – is at least interesting. Moreover, for the time being, it seems that no one really needs Dziuba, given his high financial requirements.

Photo: © RIA Novosti / Vitaly Timkiv

Home World Cup Heroes

The author of the first goal at the 2018 World Cup, Yuri Gazinsky, the top scorer of the Russian national team at the home world championship, Denis Cheryshev, and the author of the decisive assist in the match with Croatia, Alan Dzagoev, are also still without clubs. Gazinsky keeps fit with Krasnodar-2. Apparently, the 33-year-old midfielder is doing poorly with prospects. Back in early July, he passed a medical examination for CSKA, but the club did not sign him. Since then, silence.

Dzagoeva really wants to see his native Alania in his ranks, but Alan is in no hurry to break into the First League. The 32-year-old player said in July that he was in talks with clubs from the UAE and Turkey, although there were no specifics. Dzagoev keeps in shape on his own and it is not yet clear where he plans to go.

With Cheryshev, the situation is approximately the same. The 31-year-old midfielder left Valencia after the end of his contract and is training individually. There were many rumors about interest from Dynamo, Spartak, Krasnodar. But does he want to come to Russia? Denis himself said two weeks ago that he had interesting proposals and that he was at the stage of negotiations.

Photo: © FC Khimki

From Khimki to nowhere

The legends of Russian football Pavel Mamaev and Yuri Zhirkov, after the end of contracts with Khimki, also did not find a new home. Many predict the end of Zhirkov’s career, because soon Yuri Valentinovich will be 39 years old. However, he is in no hurry to announce the end of the football path. Although at any time his opinion can change the zero in the column of received contract proposals.

Pavel Mamaev is also not spoiled by the attention of clubs, he has enough problems of his own. Firstly, he recently became a father again, and secondly, his ex-wife Alana said that the football player was forbidden to leave Russia because of debts. Mamaev allegedly owes more than a million rubles in alimony.

In the company with Zhirkov and Mamaev there is a defender Elmir Nabiullin. He was predicted to return to his native Kazan, but Rubin denied interest in the 27-year-old football player.

Also, Vladimir Granat, Ilya Zhigulev, Ivan Novoseltsev, Igor Gorbatenko, Vladislav Ignatiev, Georgy Zotov, Alexander Sapeta, Denis Tkachuk, Zaurbek Pliev, Maxim Kanunnikov, Alexei Kozlov, Konstantin Raush, Evgeny Gorodov, Vladimir Dyadyun, Yaroslav Godzyur (has also Ukrainian citizenship).