Zenit turn attention to Inter defender after failed Manolas attempt

Zenit St Petersburg sporting director Konstantin Sarsania has confirmed they are interested in signing Inter centre-back Jeison Murillo after their failed attempt to sign Roma defender Kostas Manolas.

The Russian Premier League giants were poised to land Manolas but the 26-year-old failed to turn up for his medical and a deal is now dead.

Roberto Mancini, who was named Zenit manager at the start of June, wants to bolster his defensive options this summer and is now weighing up a raid of former club Inter for Murillo.

“We were interested in Medel, but now this path is closed,” Sarsania told Sports.ru., via Football Italia.

“For Murillo, however, I can say that he’s a player that Mancini knows very well and we’re interested in, although he’s not at the top of our shortlist. Still, it’s no secret that we need a central defender.”

The 25-year-old has spent the last two years at Inter after joining from Spanish side Granada and has spent the majority of that time as one of the club’s first choice defenders.

In the last two Serie A campaigns only Inter teammate Miranda (90) was fouled more times of all defenders than Murillo (82).

For more stats on Jeison Murillo, click here to visit his WhoScored player page