Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has turned down a move to Zenit St Petersburg.
Pavlyuchenko has made only four substitute appearances in the Premier League this season and Tottenham are willing to let him leave if any club matches their valuation, reported to be £15 million.
Liverpool, Birmingham and Roma have all been linked with Pavlyuchenko but it appears that the former Spartak Moscow of returning to his homeland in January.
“In the last couple of days I have received an avalanche of phone calls from my friends and the media asking if it is true I will move to Zenit,” Pavlyuchenko said in the Mirror. “Some papers had presented it as if my transfer had already gone through.
“I may disappoint some and calm down others by saying that my move to St Petersburg is not an issue. And I must stress this is my personal choice. I just cannot imagine myself wearing Zenit’s shirt.”
Zenit have also confirmed that their interest in the player has ended after Tottenham refused to allow Pavlyuchenko to leave the club on loan.
“The directors were considering loaning Roman Pavlyuchenko for six months until the summer, to decide whether to buy him,” said Zenit president Aleksandr Dyukov. “Unfortunately, this proposal didn’t suit Tottenham. We wouldn’t like to buy him at this moment.”