Zenit denies deal to send Arshavin to Spurs

Zenit St. Petersburg has denied that a deal has been agreed to see star player Andrei Arshavin head to Tottenham Hotspur.

The forward rose to international prominence at Euro 2008 and has since been linked with some of Europe's top clubs.

Barcelona, the club of his dreams, made the first bid, but at just $23.4 million, it was flatly rejected by the Russians.

The Blaugrana instead opted for Arsenal's Aliaksandr Hleb, and with Arsenal not in the market for a replacement and Chelsea chasing Real Madrid's Robinho, Arshavin's options were quickly whittled down. Now, despite his agent saying he would only move to England for one of the Big Four, he seems almost certain to play for Spurs next season.

The 27-year-old has spent his entire professional career with Zenit, but is now looking to leave for one of Europe's major leagues in search of a new challenge.

The player's agent, Dennis Lachter, has been pushing for a move to be finalized, declaring that personal terms have been agreed upon and that only a transfer fee now needs to be settled upon, with Zenit reported to be demanding $28 million.

Despite The Sunday Mirror reporting that a deal had been struck, club spokesman Alexei Blinov has denied the rumors: "This information is untrue," he told Sovetsky Sport. "The situation has not changed since Dick Advocaat last commented on it."

Sporting director Konstantin Sarsaniya added: "Tottenham offered us [$31.3 million] for Andrei, but that does not work for us. We are waiting for a new proposal. Initially we announced that negotiations will start at around [$39 million]. What the final transfer fee will be in the end is hard to say."