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Southampton: World Cup Scouted – Artem Dzyuba

By Chris Hughes

SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - JUNE 19: Artem Dzyuba of Russia scores his team's third goal during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group A match between Russia and Egypt at Saint Petersburg Stadium on June 19, 2018 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - JUNE 19: Artem Dzyuba of Russia scores his team's third goal during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group A match between Russia and Egypt at Saint Petersburg Stadium on June 19, 2018 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
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World Cup Scouted is a regular Saints Marching series in which we take a look at a standout player from the tournament in Russia who could add something to Southampton’s squad.

Tonight saw the second round of group stage games begin, with Russia facing Egypt in the evening’s fixture following Group H’s matches earlier in the day.

In Japan’s win against the Colombians, 30-year-old Takashi Inui impressed, however the winger only joined Real Betis at the start of the month and is therefore illegible for this series.

With Mohamed Salah making his first start of the competition in the evening, many expected the Pharaohs to run out as winners against the host nation, with some assuming Russia’s five-goal romp against Saudi Arabia was purely a case of the latter being extremely poor.

However they instead went out and beat Egypt 3-1, all-but confirming their position in their knockout stages. The last of their goals was scored by Artem Dzyuba, a powerful striker who has now found the back of the net in both games so far this tournament as well as grabbing an assist.

Next: Losing out on Maddison is a bitter pill to swallow

SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA – JUNE 19: Artem Dzyuba, Alexandr Samedov and Ilya Kutepov of Russia during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group A match between Russia and Egypt at Saint Petersburg Stadium on June 19, 2018 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA – JUNE 19: Artem Dzyuba, Alexandr Samedov and Ilya Kutepov of Russia during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group A match between Russia and Egypt at Saint Petersburg Stadium on June 19, 2018 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

In the first game, the forward scored a smart header once the game was beyond doubt – something of a trademark with the Zenit man standing at six-foot-five.

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In this evening’s match, Dzyuba took a long ball down brilliantly, checking onto his right-foot before finishing smartly passed the Egyptian goalkeeper.

At club level however the 29-year-old hasn’t displayed the same form – he was loaned out by Zenit St. Petersburg after scoring just once in the first 15 league games. However, he joined mid-table side Arsenal Tula at the end of January and recorded an fairly impressive six goals in ten appearances.

Whilst it may not of clicked properly with Zenit, playing for a side that more suits his style of play could see Dzyuba thrive – some of already pointed out some comparisons between the Russian and Graziano Pelle.

Granted, the striker will turn 30 not long into the 2018/19 Premier League season, but as a target man there’s no reason why Southampton couldn’t get two or three really solid seasons out of the Russian forward.

Guido Carrillo clearly isn’t the answer to the Saints’ need for a physical striker and with Mauricio Pellegrino gone, he could easily move on this summer. With bigger money potentially going to be spent on an attacking midfielder and/or a winger, Dzyuba could be a shrewd signing by Southampton.