The Moscow "Spartak" football club could not start the new season steadily. This was reported by Euro-football.ru.
Initially, they defeated the "Dinamo" team from Makhachkala, but in the next match, they suffered a heavy defeat against the "Baltika" club from Kaliningrad and then unexpectedly lost points in the match against "Akron." None of these opponents are strong enough to contend for the top of the tournament table.
Nevertheless, head coach Deyan Stankovich is focusing on the news from the transfer market. "Spartak" made the most expensive transfer in its history by signing Jedson Fernandes from the "Besiktas" club.
The transfer fee was set at 27 million euros, while the player's market value was around 18 million euros. Typically, foreign players demand higher payments when coming to the Russian championship.
Last season, Fernandes played 49 matches for "Besiktas" and scored 12 goals. This was his best result in his career.
In previous years, he had not been able to score more than 5 goals in a season. Before Jedson Fernandes, "Spartak" spent the most on transfers for Manfred Ugalde, Esek’el Barco, Gus Til, and Livay Garcia.
For example, 13 million euros were paid for Ugalde to "Twente," while 14 million euros were allocated for Barco. The Gus Til transfer did not turn out to be very successful for the club – the player, who was acquired for 18 million euros from "AZ Alkmaar," scored only 2 goals in two seasons and was later sold to "PSV" for 3 million euros.
In February 2024, "Spartak" broke its transfer record by signing Livay Garcia from Athens AEK for 18.7 million euros. However, he only scored once in half a year, and his transfer value dropped to 3 million euros.
During the summer transfer window, the club spent a significant amount again for Jedson Fernandes. According to the table, the five most expensive transfers in "Spartak" history are: Jedson Fernandes – 27 million euros, Livay Garcia – 18.7 million euros, Gus Til – 18 million euros, Esek’el Barco – 14 million euros, Manfred Ugalde – 13 million euros.
As a result of these transfers, the club's sporting results did not significantly improve. Therefore, "Spartak" needs caution and thorough analysis in its transfer policy.
