TEHRAN – Two months before the start of the 2018 soccer World Cup in Russia, Sardar Azmoun was the most wanted Iranian player in the summer transfer window but after the competition, no club have yet shown any interest in signing him. The 24-year-old attacker had caught the eyes of Liverpool, Everton, Leicester, Celtic, Lazio, […]
TEHRAN – Two months before the start of the 2018 soccer World Cup in Russia, Sardar Azmoun was the most wanted Iranian player in the summer transfer window but after the competition, no club have yet shown any interest in signing him.
The 24-year-old attacker had caught the eyes of Liverpool, Everton, Leicester, Celtic, Lazio, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and Marseille but the Rubin Kazan player is going nowhere.
Azmoun played every minute of the 2018 World Cup campaign, where Iran national football team narrowly missed the chance to reach the knockout phase.
After the 2018 World Cup, many of the Iranian players received offers from the European clubs; AZ Alkmaar winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh joined Brighton and Hove Albion on a deal worth £17 million ($22.36m).
Free agent Vahid Amiri signed a contract with Trabzonspor. Esteghlal defender Majid Hosseini is also linked to the Turkish club.
Former Al Sadd defender Morteza Pouraliganji reportedly is on the verge of joining Brighton.
Iran and Persepolis goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, who blocked a penalty kick from Cristiano Ronaldo, is weighing up his offers for the future.
Akhmat Grozny’s Milad Mohammadi has caught the eyes of Rangers, Celtic, West Brom and Eindhoven.
But there’s no offer on the table for Sardar Azmoun.
Azmoun did not do well in the World Cup and failed to meet expectations in the most prestigious event.
Iran’s strategy, based on a deep defensive line, didn’t let the pacey striker to show his potentials and he was forced to retire from national duty shortly after the World Cup after the fans insulted his family.
However, there’s still room to improve for him; we must never forget that.
Azmoun drew interest from European giants after scoring goals against Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League as Rostov player.
In my opinion, Azmoun needs to ‘grit his teeth’ and push himself back into action.
