Anton Zabolotniy is nearing a move to "Spartak": he has passed the medical examination, signed a one-season contract, with an annual salary of 600 thousand euros, and now only final details remain. This was reported by Euro-football.ru.
We will try to explain why this transfer is a wrong decision. The transfer season did not start with a significant strengthening for "Spartak," but rather with the silent noise of the past. The club's first new player is 34-year-old Anton Zabolotniy, who has long ceased to be among the players capable of fulfilling high-level club tasks.
By signing Zabolotniy, the club preferred convenience over development, chose experience, but did not take the future into account. With such a step taken at the beginning of the transfer window, every subsequent decision will be under questions arising from that.
If the next transfer does not improve the situation, fans will be forced to search for where the mistake lies again. "Spartak" fans are tired of instability; they were expecting new names, new blood, and big goals. But they got Anton Zabolotniy.
This kind of beginning seems to step back into the past instead of building a competitive team for the future. Zabolotniy is not a leader; he is considered a backup option. His appearance on the field as a main striker is not expected.
He is more likely to sit on the bench and take on the task of changing the game in the last 15-20 minutes. He will be tasked with passing the ball into the penalty area and applying pressure.
For this role, he may be somewhat useful, but it is not reasonable to keep an aging player for such episodes instead of a young footballer for a whole season. Zabolotniy is a player who talks more on the field and scores less. He is not a striker who intimidates defenders; he works more as a fighter, focusing on winning the ball, passing, and closing positions.
He is not the main striker for the club but is needed as a backup for the team. However, for a club like "Spartak," the main task is to fight for the championship, not to have a "backup face." Bringing in such a player as the first transfer indicates that the club does not hope for rapid development.
This is considered a mistake in the main transfer. The saddest part is that there was an alternative option to Zabolotniy. Nikolay Komlichenko is four years younger than Zabolotniy and is still in the stage of growth and development.
Although he earned less at "Lokomotiv," he preferred regular playing practice and a clear role in attack. This would have been a beneficial transfer in the long term.
Komlichenko chose football, not just to step onto the field as a backup player. Therefore, bringing in Zabolotniy seems even more strange and incomprehensible. Despite commendable work and character, this transfer is not a step forward; it is stagnation.
At a time when "Spartak" should strive for development, renewal, and leadership, the club brought in a player who can only fight in the penalty area. If the next transfers are not much bolder and future-oriented, the Zabolotniy transfer will become a symbol of a lack of direction rather than strengthening.
A club that does not know its team goals and is limited to existing players may find itself not at the peak but repeatedly in the starting zone. Photo: Globallookpress.com Ruslan Kivruk
