Reading Striker Pavel Pogrebnyak Rejected A Return To Russia

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Striker wants to help Royals climb back on top.

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Reading striker Pavel Pogrebnyak has revealed that he rejected the chance to go back home with Tom Tomsk in order to stay and help the Royals return to the top flight at the first time of asking, Sky Sports reports.

The 29-year-old joined the Berkshire club from Fulham at the beginning of last season but couldn’t help the club from slipping down the trap door to the Championship.

He has flip-flopped several times during the transfer window, and though initially admitting that he wanted to ply his trade at the highest level, he now claims that he wants to stay and help the club fight their way out of the second tier despite receiving a number of offers to go elsewhere.

“I’ve decided to stay at the club, although I had offers, including Russian clubs. Not just from those teams which are always in the spotlight but also from Tom Tomsk. But I answered ‘no’,” he told ITAR-TASS agency.

“It’s not about money but about my desire to play in England. I’d like to be back in the Premier League and I like the British culture very much.”

Pogrebnyak’s brothers Kirill and Nikolay are both playing at Tom Tomsk and the Russia international refused to rule out the possibility of playing together one day.

“Who knows, maybe some time we’ll play in one team,” he said.

Pogrebnyak sat out of Reading’s 1-0 victory over Yeovil Town at the weekend, prompting speculation that he was nearing the exit door, but he has insisted that he remains committed to the campaign ahead.

“I had a pain in the groin. I told our manager that changing my club is in my mind. I said I wanted to play in the Premier League,” said Pogrebnyak.

“But I promised that if I stay then I’d do everything to help Reading to reach the promotion. We’ve lost a couple of points at the start but we can still reach anything.”

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