Arsenal warned off wonderkid Ananidze
442 Staff - Monday 26 October 2009, 17:55
Spartak Moscow chief Dmitri Popov has insisted the club will not listen to any offers for starlet Zhano Ananidze.
The 17-year-old attacking-midfielder has been a revelation in 2009,
making six league appearances for Spartak to date, and becoming the
youngest ever player to score in the Russia Premier League against city
rivals Lokomotiv.
And the talented teenager has already represented his country at senior
level, making his debut for Georgia in a 2010 World Cup qualifier
against world champions Italy.
As a result, Ananidze - dubbed the 'new Georgi Kinkladze' - has been
linked with a future move to Arsenal to work with Arsene Wenger and his
armoury of gifted youngsters - with Sevilla, Juventus and AC Milan also
reportedly keen to recruit him.
However, Spartak sporting director Popov has revealed that the
player is contracted to the club for another five years and will not be
leaving until he turns 20 at the earliest.
"I read the stories," he said in the Daily Mail.
"The list of clubs did not surprise me, especially the first two. They are built on continually searching for new talent.
"But Spartak haven't received formal offers and we don't intend to consider them for the next three or four years."