Zenit St Petersburg race to sign Manchester United winger Nani & Arsenal midfielder Arshavin before Russian deadline

Manchester United winger Nani faces an anxious wait to discover whether he will join Zenit St Petersburg in a £25million deal before the Russian transfer window closes on Thursday.

Big-spending Zenit this week stunned football by splashing out over £70m on Porto striker Hulk and Benfica midfielder Axel Witsel, and are eyeing one more big-money buy before the deadline.

Zenit are also hoping to bring Arsenal midfielder Andrey Arshavin back to his homeland before their domestic transfer window shuts.


Nani has become increasingly disillusioned with life at Old Trafford after failing to agree a new contract and finding himself squeezed out of Sir Alex Ferguson's preferred line-up.

The Portugal international was expected to sign a new deal this summer and cement his place as a key part of Ferguson's future plans. But the 25-year-old has not managed to find an agreement and sources close to the player have revealed that he has been left feeling unwanted.

Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young are ahead of Nani in the pecking order on the wings, while the arrivals of Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa this summer have pushed Nani out of Ferguson's plans.