“He resembles Tony Dorigo in my opinion” was the unhelpful response I got from a friend after enquires into Chelsea’s new £18 Million signing. I had been in contact with the friend in question because of his position as a writer for Chelsea programme and had, perhaps rather deludedly, thought I might be able to uncover some gems of information on the talented Russian with the unrivalled mullet. Unfortunately for me Yuri had yet to be interviewed and little useful information was available on him, resulting in me having to conduct my own research into the player known in his homeland as the “Russian Ronaldinho”.

Yuri Valentinovich Zhirkov sprang to prominence in this country as part of the Russian team which helped quell England’s chances of qualifying for the 2008 European Championships. But for the rest of the world it was his performances during the tournament itself, and an amusing sounding surname, which left a lasting impression. What people saw of the Russian was an attacking, adventurous player with a seemingly endless supply of energy and bags of pace. Zhirkov found his way into the Team of the Tournament and it wasn’t long before he was being linked to some of the biggest clubs in Europe. Chelsea’s previous manager Guus Hiddink, using his influence as dual Russia/Chelsea manager, recommended him to Abramovich, the deal was done, and in the process Yuri became the most expensive Russian football player of all time…

Whilst at CSKA Moscow Zhirkov Scored 15 goals in 139 appearances, mainly from a wing back/defensive position, but those that he did score tended to be quite special. His brilliant goal against Hamburg earned him the honour of best goal of the Champions League 2006/07, according to UEFA’s magazine Goal. Watching this goal you can see why Zhirkov was named after the buck toothed Brazilian.

He’s obviously got talent but is Comrade Zhirkov worth a look on Fantasy Football terms? Well he comes in as a £7.5m defender on the FPL game, the same price as Liverpool new boy Glen Johnson and fellow Chelsea defenders Terry and Bosingwa and as a £4.2m defender on the TFF the same value as Patrice Evra. Evidently both games see the Chelsea new boy occupying a defensive position at the club but, before you consider the Russian for your team, there’s a number of factors to take into account.

As part of Guus Hiddink’s Russia, Zhirkov occupied the left wing back role using his stamina and creative ability to maraud forward, linking up well with a certain Mr Arshavin, and terrorising opposing right backs. His attacking nature could see him occupy both a wide midfield berth as well as the left back role, getting forward with the same intent as Ashley Cole but with perhaps a bit more end product. A number of people have been quick to jump onto Zhirkov’s pre-season bandwagon based on the fact that they see him as an out of position player (OOP) i.e. effectively a midfielder down as a defender on the game. The concern for prospective Zhirkov owners, however, is the other players – the Coles (Ashley and Joe) and the in form Malouda – he finds himself up against as well as the new managerial set up at Chelsea.

Rumbles out of Chelsea are for a change in formation under Ancelotti, who is looking to get away from his arch nemesis, Mourinho’s, introduced 4-3-3.  The change in formation appears to have manifested itself as a 4-4-2 formation with a diamond midfield as evidenced in the friendlies against the Seattle Sounders and Inter Milan. This formation see’s a narrow midfield with the wing backs overlapping and proving much of the width. As Ancelotti explained;

“This is the system we want to keep all season. It is a good system for all the players and it gives us the possibility to take control of the play.”

“It works very well with an attacking midfielder between midfield and defence. It also worked very well for the right-back and left-back, they pushed forward a lot.”

The interesting question is – Where would Zhirkov find himself in this formation? Well it’s difficult to fathom without seeing Chelsea in a few more games under their new manager. During the aforementioned friendly and the friendly against Inter Milan, both of which Zhirkov missed due to work permit red tape, Cole took the left back slot and Malouda the midfield berth. It therefore remains to be seen, when he is available, where he will play. Needless to say, unless you’re a gambling fellow, all three players; Cole, Malouda and Zhirkov look like dangerous prospects from a fantasy football perspective and until further information is available your millions could well be better placed elsewhere.