Former head of Moscow Torpedo Ilya Gerkus believes the decision by the capital club to pass on signing Artem Dzyuba will go down as a defining error.
In Gerkus’s view, Dzyuba represented the strongest option for the team at the time. He was not the flashiest choice, perhaps, but he brought high quality, stubborn persistence, and the ability to contribute meaningfully on the field. Gerkus recalls his own belief in the striker, noting that the response he received was a heavy moment of reflection from the club and the blunt line that Dzyuba was not the way forward. This took place at the start of January, and the consequences, in Gerkus’s words, were felt deeply.
The decision, he says, will be remembered for a long time, describing it as a fatal misstep in the club’s strategy. The remarks came during an interview with Match TV.
Dzyuba began this season with the Turkish club Adana Demirspor, but his contract there was terminated after only a few months. Returning to his home country as a free agent, the forward held lengthy talks with several Russian Premier League clubs. Media linked him with Torpedo and Paris Nizhny Novgorod, but in early February he agreed to a contract with Lokomotiv to run through the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
In the 18th round of the RPL, a Rostov versus Lokomotiv match saw Dzyuba deliver a hat-trick, lifting Lokomotiv to a 3–1 victory.
Meanwhile, former Spartak owner Leonid Fedun, his wife Zarema Salikhova, and other figures remain cautious in the public dialogue around the ongoing clash between Artem Dzyuba and coach Valery Karpin. The dispute has framed much of the discussion around the Rostov-Lokomotiv rivalry and the future paths for both Dzyuba and the club.