ARMENIAN STRIKER SHOWS WHY HE WAS LINKED WITH LIVERPOOL
HITC Sport
March 30 2015
by Jack Beresford
Yura Movsisyan was previously rumoured to have caught the eye of
Brendan Rodgers and though an Anfield move failed to materialise,
he still looks sharp.
With Mario Balotelli struggling to score regularly for Liverpool
during a stop-start season at Anfield, Brendan Rodgers must be
wondering where it all went wrong.
One potential starting point may be the day the Reds manager opted
against taking a gamble on Spartak Moscow striker Yura Movsisyan.
Last term the 27-year-old was nothing short of a revelation for the
Russian outfit, scoring 16 goals in 26 games to spark speculation
that he could soon be heading to England.
An Armenia international who actually started his career in Major
League Soccer with the Kansas City Wizards, Movsisyan grew up in Los
Angeles, having emigrated to the US as a child with his family.
After a spell with Real Salt Lake, he headed to Europe with Danish
side Randers, where a return of 12 goals in 30 games caught the eye
of Krasnodar.
In two seasons at the Russian club, Movsisyan scored 32 goals from
57 outings with Spartak eventually coming in for the well-travelled
forward.
Back last summer, Sky Sports were among the first to report that the
striker was attracting interest from England, with the Armenian star
all too happy to court the rumours.
“I’ve heard there may be some interested teams in England and Germany,”
he said at the time.
“If an offer is made for me, I can’t control the outcome. Spartak
know my ambition and all parties need to be satisfied.”
Soon enough, Liverpool emerged as a target with CaughtOffside claiming
that Reds manager Brendan Rodgers was weighing up a bid for the player
that same summer.
Yet no move was forthcoming and with the Reds coming close to signing
Loic Remy and later settling for Balotelli, it appeared the deal was
dead and buried.
But with the Italian failing to impress at Anfield, a change of heart
could yet be on the cards with Movsisyan still in good form for both
club and country.
The 27-year-old was on target in Sunday’s Euro 2016 qualifier with
Albania and though the underdogs ultimately went down 2-1, the one-time
LA resident looked as sharp as ever.
Maybe it’s time for Liverpool to take another look?
Would Yura Movsisyan have done well for Liverpool?