Former captain of "Spartak," Yegor Titov in an interview with "SE" assessed the prospects of forward Alexander Sobolev at "Zenit."
— Can we already say that Sobolev made a mistake by moving to "Zenit"? His statistics in the RPL are not impressive at all: 0+0...
— Let's start by noting that Sobolev has an entourage advising him on what to do. Secondly, Sobolev is not a native Spartak player. He is not like Shirkov, who has been with the club since he was seven. Sobolev hails from Barnaul, and our team was just one of the stages in his career. So, I don't criticize him for this move. He made that choice. He was advised to move to "Zenit." I won't even discuss the financial aspect right now. But it was said that Alexander is joining the St. Petersburg club for the championship. Right?
— Yes.
— Today, Semak's team is in first place. So, in some ways, Alexander might be right. At least for now. But I repeat, Sobolev is not a Spartak player. For me, such a move would be outrageous! But this is a different story. He was guided by certain factors.
And remember Dzyuba. The Spartak graduate left for "Zenit," and I must admit, I didn't understand that at all.
Dzyuba didn't fade away at "Zenit." He scored, assisted, and became one of the top scorers in the history of Russian football. However, not all fans in St. Petersburg accepted him, and for many red-and-white supporters, he is still an outsider. So, this is a very delicate line. Moving from "Spartak" to "Zenit" as a graduate of the red-and-whites. But Sobolev has different circumstances.
— But do you think he won't succeed at "Zenit"?
— Only time will tell. If Sobolev wants to become one of his own at "Zenit," there is one recipe: scoring goals and providing assists.