• Premier League

Zhirkov hints at Chelsea exit

ESPN staff
February 24, 2011
Yuri Zhirkov cost Chelsea £18million in 2009 but he hasn't been a regular © Getty Images
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Yuri Zhirkov has revealed he will look to leave Chelsea if he fails to force his way into the first team before the end of the season.

Russia wing-back Zhirkov has only recently returned from three months out with an Achilles injury.

Ashley Cole is an automatic choice for Chelsea's left back role and although Zhirkov can play in midfield, he is yet to lock down a place with competition from the likes of Florent Malouda down his flank.

Zhirkov, 27, became Carlo Ancelotti's first major signing when he joined from CSKA Moscow for £18million in the summer of 2009, but he has warned his boss that he may consider a move away from Stamford Bridge.

"My only target at the moment is to get back into the main Chelsea team,'' he told The Sun.

"If I'm successful with that, all the other issues will resolve themselves. But if I fail to achieve that between now and the summer, I will start thinking of other possibilities.''

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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