The controversial wonderkid transfer Arsenal or Man United would need government permission to complete
Arsenal & Manchester United are among the teams linked with a transfer bid for a talented teenager whose signing would court controversy.
On the one hand, there’s nothing especially unusual about a story which links Arsenal, Manchester United and a number of other Premier League teams with a future bid for a teenage winger who has found a rich vein of form for his club and made his debut for his country. But this transfer wouldn’t be quite so straightforward.
Kirill Glebov is a 19-year-old who has scored three times in his first six league games this season and received his first international cap – the sort of player who provides grist for the rumour mill on a regular basis. The difference is that Glebov’s club is CSKA Moscow, and his country so happens to be Russia…
Why Manchester United, Arsenal and others are watching Kirill Glebov
Glebov made his debut for Russia as a substitute last Thursday against Jordan, one of the handful of teams still happy to play against a country which became an international pariah after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The relatively diminutive winger, who stands at a stockily-built 5’8”, earned his international spurs off the back of an impressive run of form which saw him score three goals and provide two assists in the space of just six matches for CSKA in domestic football.
A combination a quick burst of acceleration and low centre of gravity make him a hugely effective ball-carrier, his finishing looks increasingly calm and precise, and he has an eye for a dangerous cross. He’s also industrious off the ball, an effective part of a pressing unit and responsible for over three ball recoveries per match, an impressive mark for a forward.
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Usually deployed as a right-footed winger cutting in from the left, the tape available suggests that he can perhaps be a little predictable, coming inside almost every time and showing little inclination to use his weaker foot. That’s something he’ll have to work on to make it at the top level, but given his age it’s reasonable to assume that he can make some necessary adjustments.
His speed and skill-set have supposedly endeared him to Arsenal, according to a recent story from Caught Offside, while Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion are all scouting him too – but it appears that he’s told the media that his dream destination would be Old Trafford. Whether that dream can ever come true is another matter, of course, and not one which depends solely on his development as a player.
Why Glebov would be a controversial signing for any Premier League side
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, no Russian player has signed for a Premier League side. It isn’t necessarily just a taboo, but also a complicated procedure. Sanctions mean that any club wishing to pay more than €100,000 (£86,500) to a Russian company must obtain permission from the government. Whether that would be granted or not is hard to say, given that nobody in football has yet asked.
A handful of foreign players have transferred to Britain since the war began thanks to a FIFA ruling which allowed non-Russian players at one of their clubs to break their contract and move freely to other sides, but that rule does not extend to Russian players, and while a handful of Russian players have moved to other European nations in the last few years – goalkeeper Matvey Safanov moved from FC Krasnodar to PSG, for instance – there’s no precedent for such a deal being struck by a British side.
Any such deal would, inevitably, court at least some degree of controversy, and that may make it more likely that one of Glebov’s alleged continental suitors (including Atalanta, RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt) could be the ones to make a move further down the line. Any Premier League club would be heading into a deal not knowing whether it would be permitted or whether they would face any backlash for doing so.
Glebov, who Caught Offside estimate to be valued at €1.5m (£1.3m) – an impossible figure to verify – is a very raw prospect in any case and unlikely to be an urgent priority target for any Premier League side, but there is no doubt that he has the combination of physical attributes and talent to go a long way given the opportunity.
Whether that opportunity ever arises remains to be seen. This is not a transfer that will be easy, and the obstacles will surely put many teams off. But there is a reason that Glebov is drawing scouts, and a reason that a team may eventually stick its neck out and try to orchestrate a move.