.jpg)
Big-spending Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala have completed the biggest deal of the winter transfer window, signing Willian from Shakhtar Donetsk for €35 million (Dh175.3m).
The 24-year-old forward, who had been linked with a move to Chelsea or Tottenham, has signed a “long-term deal”, the Russian club confirmed on their official website.
Willian, who starred in the UAE last month with Shakhtar playing in the Matchworld Cup, joined his new team-mates at a training camp in Marbella on Saturday.
Since joining Shakhtar from Corinthians in 2007, Willian has played 221 games, scoring 37 goals. He joins a number of fellow Brazilians in the Anzhi squad, as well as high-profile names Samuel Eto’o and Lassana Diarra, as the club bid to grab their first ever national title.
Anzhi are currently second in the Russian Premier League ahead of the season's resumption on March 9, with 41 points from 19 matches, two points behind leaders CSKA Moscow.
Willian's move to Russia is a blow for a host of Premier League clubs, including Spurs whose manager Andre Villas-Boas admitted on Friday it was almost impossible for him to sign the Brazilian international due to Shakhtar’s high valuation.
He said: “It’s a pity that a player of that talent cannot move to a better league because his talent deserves that, but I wish him well at Anzhi.”
Willian becomes the third most expensive transfer in Russian football history after Hulk’s €60m (Dh300m) transfer from Porto to Zenit St Petersburg and Axel Witsel’s €40m (Dh200.4m) move, also to Zenit, from Benfica last summer.
* For breaking news, follow us on @Sport_360 or find us on Facebook.
Related Content- Ex-Arsenal star upstages Chelsea target in Dubai
- Picture: Shakhtar Donetsk star bound for Dubai, not Chelsea
Read more... http://www.chelseamashup.com
No comments:
Post a Comment