Pavel Pogrebnyak. Yay or nay?
Much like the Kyle Naughton rumours, when a player is linked to us more than once and in different places, my mind tells me there MUST be some more truth in it. Twisted logic, and more than likely nonsense but there we are.
Anyway on to the latest rumour, and after a quiet few days we’ve been linked once again with ex Fulham striker Pavel Pogrebnyak. We were linked to him previously back in March along with Andy Johnson and here’s what we had to say on the matter back then:
Even though he went a bit quiet during the last part of the season after an ankle injury, by and large he enjoyed a hugely successful time in England, and looks like he could do a job on a consistent basis in the Premiership. He got off to an electric start, scoring five goals in three games including a perfect hat-trick. As mentioned after that things went a bit quieter for the player and after only scoring one in nine he finished his time at Fulham with a respectable record of 6 goals in 12 games.
If he’s available on a free then I’d prefer to look at someone like Pogrebnyak than fork out £4 or £5 million for someone like Grant Holt, especially considering our Russian friend is a few years younger than the Norwich striker. While not as physical or as good in the air as Holt, he still has a bit of a presence about him, and could potentially work well with any of the strikers we currently have at the club. Bringing him in would allow us to spend more to strengthen other areas of more pressing needs, and he’s got the ability to make an impact.
His Russian side have just crashed out of the Euros so if there is any truth in the story then things might happen sooner rather than later. I’d guess that Fulham are still favourites but I hope that we’re more of an attractive proposition than Reading, the other team mentioned in the Daily Mail piece. The player himself has spoken, and reaffirmed his desire to stay in the Premier League:
‘After three or four months, I feel that I have found my place in England and I want to play in this league. I feel great desire and strength inside me and my age will not work against me.’
‘We couldn’t agree anything with Fulham so far but I hope everything will be all right.’
‘If I don’t play for Fulham I hope to find another.’
So over to you, would you like to see Pogrebnyak at Villa Park, or would you prefer us to bring in another striker?
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cant go wrong buying him his free il take a crack at him
He didn’t score against us at Villa Park but he looked dangerous. I don’t know if he’d give us anything more than Gabby but maybe worth a look if the wages aren’t too high.
He is worth getting for free. Looks good. Depends on his wages.
Im saying no, don’t think he fits the profile for villa. Young talent , people who are going to stay around. Not use us as a platform.
anyone will do!! thought there was going to be moves before 5th july?? we have a week & 5days
plus on pavel pogrebnyak , id rather sign a 27yr old who scores and causes few problems than 31 yr old in grant holt :/
Tend to agree with the majority here who think it could be a good deal depending on wages. If he’s available on a free he might be looking at more per week. If it all worked out and he was available on a decent amount I think it be worth the punt, he looked decent during his time at Fulham.
Nope.
Why is he being released on a free and why has he not started in the Euros?
He is not better than Darren Bent.
He was only on a short term deal at Fulham and his parent club don’t seem to want him. Not saying he’s better than Bent, but you need more than one striker at a club, and he’s arguably at the same level if not higher than Gabby and Weimann (granted Weimann is young and I think he’ll be a star).