'He will play in Monaco' - Golovin agent denies exit reports

Aleksandr Golovin has no intention of leaving Monaco in the January transfer window, according to the player’s agent.

The Russia international has only been with the Ligue 1 club for six months following a €30 million (£27m/$34.3m) move from CSKA Moscow in the summer.

The 22-year-old arrived in the principality with a burgeoning reputation after four successful seasons in the Russian capital.

The big-money move was also no doubt aided by his participation at the World Cup, where he helped hosts Russia reach the quarter-finals of the tournament for the first time since the break up of the Soviet Union.

However the midfielder has struggled to replicate that form in a Monaco shirt, his cause not helped by an ankle injury that saw him miss the opening month of the season.

Since returning to fitness in September he has gone on to make 14 appearances in all competitions so far, but has yet to score and has registered just two assists.

To make things worse for Golovin he was sent off in a 3-0 defeat at Lyon earlier this month.

In his defence, Golovin isn’t the only player to have struggled in a Monaco shirt this season. It has been a difficult campaign for Les Monegasques, with the club currently 19th in Ligue 1 with just three wins from their first 18 league games.

They also finished bottom of their Champions League group without winning a game.

Even the arrival of Thierry Henry as manager in October has failed to spark much of a revival, with the former Arsenal striker winning three and losing nine of his 14 games in charge in all competitions.

With the transfer window due to open next week, a number of Monaco players have been linked with a move away as Henry seeks to reshuffle his struggling squad.

Golovin was among those players to be linked with an exit; with speculation suggesting Zenit St Peterburg could take him back to Russia.

Those rumours have been given short shrift by the player’s agent, Oleg Artyomov though.

Speaking to Russian website Championat, he said, “All thoughts of Alexander are connected with performance in Europe. He will play in Monaco.”