According to a report from the Telegraph a couple of years back, Arsenal were interested in singing Russian striker Aleksandr Kokorin. However, a move to the Premier League failed to materialise and the Russian has continued to weave his magic in the Russian Premier League.
Kokorin, who was a part of Russia’s squad for the 2014 World Cup and the 2012 European Championship, missed the 2018 World Cup held in Russia due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury. However, he has eased himself back into action for his club Zenit St.Petersburg in the Russian Premier League this season.
The 27-year-old, who enjoyed his breakthrough season in 2012/13 at Dynamo Moscow, has an appealing profile for a striker, having accumulated 84 goals and 39 assists in 295 appearances for Dynamo Moscow and his current club Zenit.St Petersburg.
He has an equally impressive record in the Europa League as well, having amassed 14 goals and 4 assists from 28 appearances.
As evident from his profile, Kokorin not only has an impressive number of goals but has contributed equally with assists too. Standing at 6ft, the 27-year-old is a tactically versatile attacker with a sound technique who is capable of operating as a centre-forward, right-winger and also in a No.10 role.
A fast, agile and fleet-footed attacker, Kokorin combines pace with his instincts and awareness to make subtle runs behind the backline. His good vision allows him to link up the play with his teammates in the final third, making him a useful assist-provider to go with his goalscoring prowess.
When deployed as a wide attacker down the right, he uses his technique to keep good close control in the tight areas and has the ability to set up goals with accurate deliveries from the flanks. Apart from that, he has the knack of being at the right place and at the right time to find the net and his clinical nature in front of the goal makes him a valuable asset to have in the squad.
Furthermore, he has a decent aerial game, good dribbling skills and a nice turn of pace, which should allow him to cope with the dynamic nature of the Premier League.
To put things into perspective, he would be the ideal man to provide cover for Harry Kane at Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs have made a solid start to their Premier League campaign and the Lilywhites sit 3rd in the standings, eight points behind Manchester City at the top of the table but two points ahead of bitter rivals Arsenal.
However, Mauricio Pochettino should be concerned with his growing list of injuries. Tottenham’s campaign has been marred to a significant extent by the absence of several of their key players due to recurrent injuries. Spurs do not have the depth in their squad to be realistic title contenders and Pochettino should add some new faces in January.
And they need to focus on the centre-forward position in January to reduce the burden on Harry Kane’s shoulders. Spurs might find themselves in a deep hole should Kane be sidelined with an injury as Vincent Janssen and Fernando Llorente have established themselves as glaring liabilities at north London.
That said, Tottenham should start pursuing an interest in the dynamic Russian striker as he would be a massive boost to their squad depth.
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