Pogrebnyak to replace Carroll or RVP

There’s a new Russian in town. And he is huge.

Not just in terms of size, but in terms of goal scoring ability.

Russians in the Premier League thaw quickly, but fail to remain hot for long. Think Andrei Arshavin.

For the moment though, Robin Van Persie aside, Pavel Pogrebnyak is the one to watch.

He was Fulham’s hat-trick hero as the Cottagers crushed Wolves, yesterday.

The on-loan Muscovite helped Fulham bag a third successive Premier League win taking his tally to five in three games since moving from Stuttgart in January.

He teamed up with Texan Clint Dempsey, who scored the other two yesterday to spark talk of an American-Russian partnership not seen since the end of the Cold War.

More importantly though, some key Premier League clubs will be watching Pogrebnyak closely.

Chelsea need a replacement for the bullying power of Didier Drogba.

Pogrebnyak has the muscle to do that. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has the Russian muscle to convince Pogrebnyak to move.

Liverpool believe that a tall, strong, powerful forward is a must – even if he is to only play the last five minutes of a game.

As King Kenny plots the Reds return to the top of the table, it might be Pogrebnyak instead of Kop flop Andy Carroll next season.

However, it is Arsenal that might look most closely at the Pog option.

Sell Van Persie for a mouth-watering profit, then bring in Pogrebnyak. If he keeps scoring like this, it will be a win-win for everyone at the Emirates.

It’s also not just that Pogrebnyak scores, it’s the way he scores. With power, elan and a touch that big strikers are not known to have.

One thing is for certain, if Pogrebnyak keeps scoring Martin Jol and Fulham can say goodbye to their Russian-American partnership.

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