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Aleksey Miranchuk moved from Lokomotiv to Atalanta in the status of the most creative Russian player, and expectations from this transfer were the highest. A comfortable city, a strong championship, a wise coach and a young ambitious team — everything seemed to indicate that Miranchuk should become the leader of the Italian team. But after almost three years on the Apennine Peninsula, Alexei found himself at a crossroads in his career. And the choice of where to turn will be crucial for the player.
In the clutches of Gasperini
The period of Alexei's performance for Atalanta can not be called either good or a failure: in fact, the midfielder never became an indispensable part in the mechanism of Gian Piero Gasperini and was quoted at the level of a substitution player. Moreover, it cannot be said that the coach did not give the Russian a chance, because there were segments when Miranchuk started at the start, but he could not show anything extraordinary. Perhaps the whole point is in the overstated requirements and too rigid tactical dogmas of Gasperini, which a huge number of truly talented and bright football players could not adapt to.
Often this state of affairs led to a real confrontation within the team. The most striking example is the scandal with Atalanta leader Alejandro Gomez, whom Gasperini actually «ate» for disobedience. Yes, Alexei does not have an open conflict with the coach, given the high game ethics of the midfielder and his natural modesty. But the «good guy» is not a profession, which is why Miranchuk never became his own for the eminent coach.A move to Torino on loan last summer seemed like the best option and a breath of fresh air. Coach Ivan Yurich trusted Alexei to the fullest, besides, the competition among the “bulls” is noticeably lower than that of the Bergamasks. Together with his old acquaintance from the Russian Premier League (RPL), Nikola Vlashich, Miranchuk created a productive duo that brought Torino a large number of points last season. Four goals and six assists in 29 matches is a grandmaster result for an attacking midfielder, but Turin probably wanted a little more from the Russian. In addition, Alexei was never able to stabilize his game as much as possible, sometimes simply dissolving on the field during important meetings.
At the end of the season, the leadership of Torino faced a choice, whose transfer to spend a significant amount of money — Miranchuk or Vlašić? «Bulls» cannot boast of great financial opportunities and are unlikely to be able to aim at two major transitions at once without impressive sales. Therefore, the news about the purchase of Vlašić from the English “West Ham” actually indicated that either in northern Italy they completely refused to buy Alexei, or they paused to persuade colleagues from Bergamo to part with an unnecessary asset cheaper. It seems that this is what Vlasic's agent Tonci Martic was talking about: «Nikola would like to continue playing with Miranchuk, but now this is not in the plans of Torino.
What's next — Italy or Russia?
Time passes, the new season has already begun, and there is no more clarity with Alexei's future. He returned to the location of Atalanta and is engaged in an individual schedule, but has not yet taken part in matches and did not even get into the application for the first round match of Serie A against Sassuolo (2: 0). The composition has changed seriously, but this team continues to be led by Gasperini, and it is not a fact that over the year he has radically revised his attitude towards the Russian and will be ready to give him a second chance.
According to the well-known Italian journalist, editor-in-chief of Napoli Magazine Antonio Petrazzuolo, Miranchuk is unlikely to win a place under the sun in Bergamo. “Miranchuk is not in Gasperini’s plans, he is currently not in the squad. With the start of the new season, Serie A published the shirt numbers of all the players of each team, and Miranchuk does not appear among the Atalanta players, that is, the player was not even assigned a number, and even the club didn't include him in their social media post.Aleksei missed the first training session of the summer due to back pain and hasn't been seen since.Miranchuk missed all the friendlies without ever coming on the bench.I think «Atalanta just have different priorities, Gasperini has his own preferences. But this does not mean that Miranchuk is not a valuable player,» said Petrazzuolo.
Based on this, the media have repeatedly reported on the interest in Miranchuk from other Italian teams, but things are still there. Alexey's agent Vadim Shpinev, in a conversation with, urged not to respond to rumors, emphasizing that the footballer has a two-year contract with Atalanta: «Alexey respects Atalanta and Senor Gasperini.» It is obvious that the footballer and his representatives are waiting for specifics, first of all, from the Bergamasks as rights holders, but I would not want to end up in an endless process of waiting again for the transfer/loan teams to be completed or for the transfer window to close altogether. Alexey is 27 years old, and now staying in a team where they count on you as a maximum as a rotation player is akin to career suicide.
«Lesha needs to go on loan or play better, that's all. There are no other options,» said former Lokomotiv Moscow coach Yuri Semin, under whose leadership Miranchuk became the champion of Russia, as well as the owner of the Cup and the Super Cup of the country. — I don't see another development of events, he just ended up with the wrong coach and the wrong team. Gasperini has his own requirements, and, apparently, Lesha does not fit these requirements. Maybe he has better players. Therefore, this is a simple situation. «
«In the past few hours, Turin has renewed contacts with Atalanta for the Russian who returned to Bergamo after last year's season on loan,» Petrazzuolo said. «, the Bergamo club does not intend to reduce the requirements. With bonuses and interest, the deal could be completed for about 10 million euros, but at the moment there is still a fairly large gap between the parties. Therefore, it will take several more days of work to reach an agreement. In addition I don't see any interest from other clubs.»
Or maybe consider the option of returning to Russia? Miranchuk has said many times that playing in Europe is his dream, and he does not intend to give it up just like that. Age allows you to fight for a place in Atalanta, try yourself in another club or even another championship. It is now customary to say about Russian legionnaires in Europe that they will always have time to return to the RPL. Well, it makes sense, especially for a player of such a plan and format as Miranchuk.
But right now, it is unlikely that the player is seriously considering such an option, given the European Cup ban and the financial situation in many clubs. After all, a football player with a European background can ask for an impressive salary, which, perhaps, only one St. Petersburg “Zenith” can pull. Alexey could probably make a discount only to his native club — Lokomotiv, but in the capital's club they say that there is no talk of returning his pupil now. «We have no offers to rent Alexei, he plays in Italy,» said the chairman of the board of directors of Lokomotiv, Yuri Nagornykh.
Clarity with the future of the player will come in the very near future. I want Alexei to succeed in Italy, there is a certain feeling of understatement from this stage of his career. For three years in Serie A, Miranchuk managed to acquire, as they say, meat and showed his strengths, so the midfielder will be in demand, and it does not matter whether it is Atalanta, Torino or another club. The main thing is to play as much as possible. After all, Lesha's career shows that the full trust of the coach and partners is the main factor in his development and progress, revealing his talent to the fullest. This is what we should hope for.