According to reports in the press, Zenit St.Petersburg have made Russian midfielder Igor Semshov their first 2009 signing, acquiring him from Dinamo Moscow for a reported €8 million euro fee. Semshov will sign for St.Pete when he returns from holiday, and joins former Dinamo teammate Danny Alves at the Petrovsky Stadium. Zenit had signed Alves for a Russian record fee of €30m from Dinamo in August 2008.
Semshov, considered as one of the best players in the Russian Premier League, played for CSKA Moscow and Torpedo Moscow before moving to Dinamo.
He reportedly wanted a salary hike which was not offered by Dinamo, and the eight million release clause paved the way for his exit. Spartak Moscow and Rubin Kazan were also reportedly interested in securing his signature, but Semshov chose current UEFA Cup champions Zenit, who may see skipper Anatoly Tymschuk move to Bayern Munich in January.
St.Pete signing Semshov ?
Interesting bit of news in there.