Representing A Continent

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Vadik Vassily - On today’s special show I will be taking a look at some of the talented youngsters we currently have on our books. I will also take a look at how the club has been prepared for the expectant sales of some of our star players by fast tracking some of the young stars in our youth setup. With a number of key players gaining a lot of attention from some of Europe's biggest clubs, we may be seeing some of our stars leaving the club this winter window.

Nikola Vlasic

Reported Interest:
Borussia Dortmund (Bid of £16,000,000 rejected)
Juventus
Real Madrid
Valencia

The last four years in Nikola Vlasic’s life have been very up and down. Seen as a true star of the future in Croatia after some impressive displays for boyhood club Hajduk Split, English side Everton took the plunge and spent £8,000,000 on the then 20 year old. However, the move didn’t work out for either side, with Vlasic struggling with the intensity and physicality of the premier league.

In his twelve premier league appearances, the attacking midfielder failed to register a single goal or assist for the side. Surplus to requirements Everton sent Vlasic to CSKA Moscow on loan in the 2018/19 season where he impressed then manager Viktor Goncharenko. Goncharenko spent £13,500,000 on the midfielder before he was replaced by current boss Luke Hendricks.
Despite impressing in periods, Nikola struggled in his first full season as a CSKA Moscow player, scoring just three goals and having five assists in his twenty-eight league games. However, with another season behind him, the Croatia star impressed from the off this season, scoring a first half hattrick in the opening game of the season against Tambov. Since then Vlasic has continued to be influential scoring a total of ten goals and five assists sixteen games this season.

These impressive performances have led to many of Europe's biggest clubs taking an interest in the playmaker. With a serious struggle to keep one of Europe's hottest properties on our books, Luke Hendricks will surely take a look to his youth side for some potential replacements.

Possible Replacements




Vlasic is by far the toughest player we will have to replace in this list, with the Croatian being so influential to the side. But our best bet on replacing him ‘in-house’ will be Konstantin Kuchaev. The Russian under 21s International has featured in seven games under Luke Hendricks, with a single assist to his name. However, in the youth teams, where he also played under Luke, has started so far in his career. Last season the 22 year old scored seven and assisted ten times in his twenty-six league under 21s games. He has spent the most time out of the other two on the list and if Luke can get the best out of him like he did in the youth setup, Kuchaev may well be an adequate replacement.

The two other potential players both have major issues that could prevent them from being able to star in the rest of this season. Danila Yanov was the backup to Vlasic last season and impressed, scoring twice and assisting twice in his seventeen games, although fourteen of those matches came from the bench. However, Yanov was this year allowed to go on loan to try and further his gametime and hopefully his development. But the loan isn’t seemingly going to plan with the playmaker scoring just three goals in twenty-seven games for second division strugglers Fakel. The loan is expected to be terminated this window but whether Yanov will be able to replace the influence of Vlasic after what must have been a confidence knocking six months, is yet to be seen.

The final option is 16 year old Dias Shevchenko, who recently came through the youth system and was fast tracked into first team training. The attacking midfielder has played in three senior games this season and has looked steady. He is clearly a player brimming with potential, but to replace a star in Vlasic is way too early for Shevchenko. A raw talent, but someone who still has a long way to go to be a first team star.

Fedor Chalov

Reported Interest:

Newcastle United (Bid of £6,000,000 rejected)
Leicester City
Burnley

A youth product that Luke has at this point started in all but three league games since Luke took over as the clubs manager. In those forty-five games, Chalov has scored eighteen goals along with five assists. It hasn’t quite clicked for the Russian striker yet under his South African manager, but Hendricks has on numerous occasions expressed his faith in the 22 year old.

Still young, Chalov has a lot of time to develop yet and has shown he can be an effective player at the very highest level, scoring five goals in his nineteen games for Russia. This potential has evidently been seen by a number of the English Premier League’s sides.

Despite interest from these clubs, it is believed Chalov wouldn’t be willing to give up the European football he currently plays in with CSKA to move to a mid table side in the premier league. Burnley are currently in the best position out of the three showing interest, sitting 10th, whilst Leicester are four points off in 13th. Newcastle, the one side who have so far made a bid, sit in a lowly 17th having played twenty games this season.

But the transfer window is still in its infancy and with teams always looking to improve their options up front, it isn’t a guarantee we see Chalov playing here when we return to action.

Possible Replacements:



If Fedor Chalov was to leave the club we would have some issues replacing him from within, with only two real options. The first option would be to start Timur Zhamaletdinov, who is currently being used as our backup from the bench. Having impressed on loan last season at Polish side Lech Poznań, Timur has made twelve appearances this season. However, only one of those has been a start with the majority of his minutes being in the final ten of a game.

In his single start this season, in the cup game against Chertanovo, the 23 year old scored in the 5-0 victory and added an assist for his side. Despite limited game time, Timur is said to be one of, if not the hardest worker at the club. That work rate is appreciated highly by Luke Hendricks, who aims to have his side fight for every ball. It’ll be important for Timur to continue that hard work though if he is to take all the potential he has and to prove himself as an important player.

A more likely option to replace Chalov is that of Lassana N'Diaye, a player who despite being three years junior to Timur, has a lot more experience at this level. The Malian striker joined the club three seasons ago. In that time he has made eight appearances under Luke Hendricks in the first team, scoring once. He was also a player who starred for Luke Hendricks in the youth side that won their league, those performances saw Luke call him up to the first team squad last season. This season he was sent to FC Nizhniy Novgorod a relegation threatened side, for more experience at Premier league level.

Despite his teams struggles as they sit bottom of the league, N’Diaye has stood out as by far the clubs best player. In his fourteen league starts, the striker has three goals, with two more coming in the league cup. To highlight their struggles, only three other players have scored more than one goal for the club this season. N’diaye would have to be recalled from his loan, but there is an option in the deal, so that shouldn’t be much of an issue.

Luis Olivera

Reported Interest

Wolfsburg
Genoa
FC Famalicão

One of Luke Hendricks best signings, in my opinion. Signing Olivera on a free, the Argentinian was initially thought to be a stop gap until Georgy Schennikov returned to action. However, the 22 year olds impressive performances saw him make the position his own and he hasn’t let up this season. Playing in seventeen of CSKA’s eighteen league games, the left back has contributed two goals and three assists, whilst playing a key role in the league's second best defense.

With a total of seventeen clubs supposedly interested in signing him on loan, Olivera also has some big European clubs after his signature on a permanent deal. Wolfsburg, who were runners up five years ago in the Bundesliga, Genoa and FC Famalicão are all said to be after him. Each club is pushing for European spots and it may be tough to keep the talented player.

Possible Replacements



If Olivera is to leave, the most likely option in the short term is that of Georgy Schennikov, a good friend of Luke Hendricks. Still only aged 29, Schennikov still has a few more years of football in him, however, a second broken ankle in two years (the first being in 2017 and the second in 2019) has seen the left-back play just fifteen competitive games in the last two seasons. This lack of gametime is certainly a worry but with Raphaël Anaba on loan for the rest of the season, it may be a worry we need to deal with for the rest of the season.

Anaba however, will return for next season following his loan from Cameroonian club Coton Sport. Since his loan the left back has impressed and still aged 20, the Cameroonian has bags of potential. If Olivera is to leave, the best situation for the club would likely to only allow a deal to go through come the end of this season.

With three star players gaining high levels of interest, we have a good backup for them, however, Luke may need to address some areas come the transfer window if we are to continue at the high level we have reached so far this season.

Replies

tedbro:Hopefully all will be revealed soon enough!
Scott:The photo book certainly seemed to peak Luke's attention.
Eoin:It seems odd that they would be standing so far away!
Jack:Hopefully Luke has woken up to what is happening, however, with the shock loss of both his parents, it could take longer to realize it.
Justice:Drives as crazy as Marcos Alonso!
Griffo:Think Stam should add sound effect options!

An incredibly detailed transfer update. Despite it being very long, I didn't lose any interest at all! Luke has some good options in his CSKA ranks, but in my opinion, Fedor Chalov must stay. He is quality and can do it on the biggest of stages

It's certainly an opportunity for CSKA to bag a few extra quid if these players are sold despite the downsides of that and the weaker replacements to step in. Interesting to see what Luke does here.

Impressive update as ever. As Jack says, now could be the perfect time to cash in on some of these players to get the maximum worth. It'll be interesting to evaluate any business come the end of the window. I feel as though there could be some action.

The worry would be if CSKA find themselves becoming a selling club. However, this would lend the opportunity to the young players to impress.

Really like how you have laid this out with the possible options, its great

CSKA Moscow have today sold Nikola Vlasic in a deal worth £45,000,000 rising to £51,000,000 with the talented Croatian joining Italian giants Juventus. The deal comes with the understanding that Ilzat Akhmetov will also be leaving the club to Southampton.

In a month that has shocked many around CSKA Moscow, with the double murder of manager Luke Hendricks’ parents, a move that was expected has happened. Nikola Vlasic has made a £45,000,000 move to Juventus, a club record fee received for CSKA.

Vlasic began his career at Croatian club Hajduk Split where he showed the abundance of potential he had at a young age. Whilst there, the Croatian scored thirteen goals and created twenty assists in 120 games. Having made his debut aged just 16, scoring on his debut, the potential of the playmaker was clear and Everton made the move to sign him.

Despite Everton splashing a reported £8,000,000, it didn’t work out for Vlasic at the English club, as he made just twelve league appearances at the Merseyside club. The following season, with four years still on Nikola Vlasic’s contract, CSKA loaned the Croatian for the season.

Showing his potential once again, scoring eight goals and seven assists in his thirty-one games, CSKA made the loan a permanent move. Spending £13,500,000 on the attacking midfielder, Vlasic stumbled in his first permanent year. Managing just five goal contributions in the league having played all but two fixtures.

With many already doubting the 23 year olds ability, Nikola Vlasic stunned the competition in the first part of this season. An opening day hattrick matched his entire season goals tally the season before and in the following fifteen games, he added seven more. Scoring ten goals and creating five assists in sixteen league games, Vlasic began to attract attention from some of Europe's biggest clubs.

Borussia Dortmund were the first to make a bid for CSKA’s star but the offer was rejected straight away. Soon after Real Madrid made a reported £40,000,000 offer that was accepted by the club, with Vlasic said to be wanting the move to the Spanish side. However, days later, Juventus made a bid of £45,000,000 bid with that rising to at least £51,000,000 and potentially £60,000,000 with a 20% sell on fee clause also inserted into the deal.

With two offers on the table, Vlasic decided to sign for the Italian Champions, with Juventus looking to make it ten Serie A titles in a row this season. That title run has hit a stumbling block so far this year with the Italian club currently fourth in the league six points off Inter Milan with a game in hand. Vlasic will join the team looking to add an extra level of creativity to the side which are ageing. Vlasic will become just one of the four players currently in the Juventus side who are under the age of 25 and his energy and enthusiasm will be needed in an attacking trio including Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Nikola Vlasic isn’t the only star leaving CSKA Moscow in the coming days with Ilzat Akhmetov having a deal agreed with English club Southampton. Akhmetov had recently handed in a transfer request to manager Luke Hendricks and with a £12,500,000 offer accepted, Akhmetov will soon be moving to England.

Having joined CSKA Moscow on a free transfer in the 2018/19 season from Rubin Kazan, Akhmetov started in twenty-two games for CSKA in his debut season. However, with Luke Hendricks replacing Viktor Goncharenko as the CSKA manager, Akhmetov saw his gametime dwindle. With Hendricks perfering the younger Ivan Oblyakov, who had a breakout season, Akhmetov was used mainly off the bench or as a backup right winger, instead of his prefered central role. This lack of gametime led to the transfer request and with everything but personal terms seemingly agreed, Ilzat Akhmetov is likely on his way out of the club.

With two important members of the CSKA Moscow squad on their way out, manager Luke Hendricks will surely be needing to make some additions to his squad.

Replies

Eoin:Chalov has been underperforming really, his goal return isn't what would be expected but he is still a great player to have and to keep hold of him for now would be big.
Jack:Despite losing two very important players, the sales have flipped our finances completely. We now look very comfy in that department so as much as we have lost two important players, it could be beneficial in the long run.
Scott:Some incomings may be necessary given the impact those sales have. We certainly want to be winning the title this season give our current position so maybe you will see some signings soon.
Justice: I think that is certainly a worry, but for now not one we can get rid of yet. The club isn't able to quite generate the big money through competition wins and prize money so selling players helps. Once the cash is built up it'll be a lot easier to keep a solid team together and not be so dependent on sales.
Griffo:Thank you mate, glad you enjoyed!

A huge amount of money for a player departing the RPL, surely its a record sale for the whole league? Some great business done by Luke to help develop Vlasic into a 51,000,000 euro player. Might bring a short smile to his face during the dier circumstances in his personal life....

Juventus pants have been well and truly pulled down there. Congratulations to CSKA and everyone involved from their side in conducting this deal. Not to mention for getting another similarly hilarious amount of money for Akhmetov.

Wow, so that’s just under 60 million to play around with. Certainly a lot of wiggle room over the negotiation table for new improvements. These two deals could spell the start of a new era at CSKA!

With the kind of money you have on the table now you could quite simply just buy the league.

Matko Miljevic becomes CSKA Moscow’s first winter signing, joining the club from Argentinian side Argentinos Juniors, in a deal worth reportedly, £7,000,000.

Following the sale of star man, Nikola Vlasic, to Juventus earlier in the month, CSKA Moscow have made their move in signing his replacement. Matko Miljevic, an Argentinian under 20s capped player, joins the Russian side in a deal worth £7,000,000.

Born in America to Argentinian parents and with Croatian roots, Matko Miljevic began his career at Argentinos Juniors making his debut in the 2018/19 season. It wasn’t until last season however, when Miljevic made his mark, scoring four goals and adding four assists in twenty league games for his side. Despite his goal contributions dropping off this year with just a single goal and three assists to his name in sixteen games, CSKA Moscow clearly see Miljevic as their man.

Aged just 19, Miljevic is expected to have a bright future, with former manager, José Luis Calderón, once dubbing the playmaker as a “talented boy who can go as far as he likes in the game”. With such high praise from a former Argentinian International, Miljevic made his Argentina Under 20s debut in the backend of 2019, scoring on debut against Australia.

A player with an eye for a pass, Miljevic is also said to be a very hard worker, a trait that has been evident in a large majority of Luke Hendricks’ signings since he became manager in 2019.

Hendricks, who suffered the tragic loss of both of his parents in December, was unable for comment on his new signing, however, assistant manager Victor Onopko had this to say.

“Matko (Miljevic) is a very talented young man. He was our number one target as soon as we knew Nikola (Vlasic) was going to be leaving and we couldn’t be happier that we have got him in on the deal we have. He is a player that is going to work hard to both help the team and to also ensure he reaches his full potential. I truly believe that he can compete and will compete at the highest levels and we can’t wait to see what he can do for this club.”.

With Nikola Vlasic, who has started life at Juventus with an assist in just his second game for the club, and Ilzat Akhmetov both leaving the club this window, many CSKA fans felt a new signing was imperative. With Matko Miljevic signed, it looks like another player will be signing a contract with the club in the coming days.

This time however, the contract will be an extension, with Luis Olivera reportedly ready to sign a new two year extension to his current deal, seeing him through to the 2024 season. Olivera, who was one of Luke Hendricks first signings as CSKA boss, has impressed ever since his move. Having started in all but four league games since his move, Olivera has provided six assists and three goals in his forty-four league games.

The Argentine, has impressed to such a level that the left back has gained interest from a number of clubs across Europe. The most substantial of the interested parties are German side Wolfsburg, who have reportedly had three bids rejected by the Moscow based side. Olivera is seen as a key man at CSKA and with a fear of losing three key players in one window, the fans needn’t worry anymore, with Olivera’s long term future looking more and more likely to be at Arena CSKA.

Replies

Eoin: I believe the one player that was more expensive was the sale of Hulk to China, so almost.
Griffo: Certainly how I felt!
Scott: Was certainly surprised how much I got for them, especially considering the first few others for Vlasic were around 16mil. Glad to have got what I did out of them.
Jack:Got some good money in now and happy with Matko coming in as the replacement for Vlasic.
Justice:Certainly going to have a lot more than what we have early on!

Well that's Vlasic's replacement.