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Pavlyuchenko to join Spurs August 27, 2008 12:40 IST Roman Pavlyuchenko is poised to join Tottenham Hotspur, the Russia [Images] striker said on Tuesday. "I can confirm I'm joining (Spurs)," the Spartak Moscow [Images] player told local media. "Right now I'm getting my visa and as soon as it is ready I will fly to England [Images] to sign a contract." Pavlyuchenko said he would not play for Spartak against Dynamo Kiev in Wednesday's Champions League third qualifying round second leg. The Russians trail 4-1 from the opening match. "I won't play in Kiev," he said. "Everything has happened very quickly so I couldn't even say goodbye to my team mates." The 26-year-old was Russia's top scorer at Euro 2008 [Images] with three goals as he helped his country reach the semi-finals, their best showing at a major championship in 20 years. Pavlyuchenko also scored twice in a 2-1 win over England in a qualifying match in October. Tottenham's attempt to sign Andrei Arshavin fell through last week when their bid for Russia's talented playmaker was rejected by UEFA [Images] Cup holders Zenit St Petersburg [Images]. The English League Cup holders are desperate to sign a striker, having sold Ireland's Robbie Keane to Liverpool in the close season and with Bulgarian international Dimitar Berbatov constantly linked with a move to Manchester United [Images]. Spurs have started the season poorly, losing their opening two Premier League matches to Middlesbrough and Sunderland.
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