Thursday, 4th July, 2013
Zenit St. Petersburg boss Luciano Spalletti could be set for a reunion with his former Roma striker Mirko Vucinic, with the Russian club pressing for a €9m deal, according to Izvestia.
Spalletti and Vucinic were paired for 119 Roma games in the previous decade, when the former was in-charge between 2005 and 2009.
Spalletti eventually left for Zenit, whilst Vucinic remained in Italy to join Juventus, with his contract lasting until 2015.
However, Zenit are preparing to bring Vucinic over to Russia, with his annual salary expected to be in the region of €3.8m, excluding any bonuses accrued.
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The Russian Premier League runners-up are understood to be in negotiations over terms of the contract, even if no official confirmation of the same has been reported.
While Vucinic is captain of his Montenegro side and has earned 32 caps with them, Zenit have another established international up front for them in Brazilian Hulk.
It is expected the two players will be paired to provide the majority of Zenit’s goals next season, alongside another recent arrival in former Arsenal striker Andrei Arshavin.
However, the Russian giants face a formidable foe in Juventus, who are understood to be demanding double the price for Vucinic, who chipped in with 10 league goals this season.
The Serie A winners will, undoubtedly, hold most of the cards in this saga, this despite having recruited two crack frontmen this summer in Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente.
However, former Zenit striker Aleksandr Panov feels the club have the financial muscle to pull off the deal.
"Vucinic is a very experienced and strong player, and one who I can easily imagine as part of Zenit", Panov told Izvestia.
"Combined with Hulk in attack they could become one of the best in Russia. Zenit have the money to make this transfer happen and offer Vucinic some solid personal terms.
"Hopefully, by the time the new season comes, Vucinic will be a Zenit player. At least, I do not know what can prevent it from happening."
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