Zenit close door on Arshavin move

7:30pm Wednesday 20th August 2008

Zenit St Petersburg claim to have closed the door on Andrei Arshavin's proposed transfer to Tottenham.

The 27-year-old forward had been keen to play for Spurs following a conversation with Juande Ramos but a fee was not agreed with the Russian club, who originally wanted upwards of £20million.

A statement from Zenit read: "According to agreements, the club (Spurs) had until August 18 to send their proposals. So far these proposals have not been received. Given the deadline has expired and the uncertainty of the situation does not allow the club to find a replacement for Andrei Arshavin, Zenit considers the possibility of transferring the player to Tottenham closed."

Spurs were linked with Spartak Moscow's Roman Pavlyuchenko, Arshavin's Russia team-mate, earlier in the summer but the striker is unsure if he is going to move.

"I can't say anything concrete, since I don't really know myself [the situation]," Pavlyuchenko told Sport Express.

"Everything is still being discussed. Maybe Spartak have already made a decision, but I haven't decided one way or the other.

"Moreover, the transfer to England which everyone is talking about, would be a big problem for my family, as we have a young child. So we need to discuss it properly."