Zenit St Petersburg are interested in Real Madrid reserve striker Denis Cheryshev, according to Russian daily Izvestia.
The 21-year-old [pictured, left] has been at Madrid since he was a youth, having started his career at Sporting Gijon where his father Dimitry was playing at the time, but Zenit will attempt to take him back to the country of his birth in the winter transfer market.
The report maintains that Dimitry is set to meet officials from the Russian club, who will propose a considerably better deal than his son’s current agreement with Madrid, although the player’s father denies there has been a concrete offer.
“Zenit is an elite club with prestige and strength that is always fighting for the League title. I hear they are very interested in Denis although there have been no meetings.
“It is very flattering for us but so far there have been no firm offers,” he said.
Still, Dimitry did acknowledge that if Zenit did come up with a proposal then both he and his son would consider it.
“Let’s wait. If talks are formalised and a specific offer is made then we will study it. Of course, the interest from a club like Zenit is a great honour but we will make a decision based on what Denis wants to do, but as a father I can only advise him.”
Zenit’s interest comes after Cheryshev was recently called into Fabio Capello’s preliminary squad for the Russian national team, although they are not the only club to have checked the Castilla player out.
Premier League outfit Reading were also reported to be interested in him two months ago and could yet return with another offer in January.
