A defender from Paraguay, a "conductor" from Serbia and a forward from Russia: who strengthened the RPL clubs between rounds

Solving the problem of "Dynamo" in the center of defense

Dynamo faced serious problems in the center of defense at the start of the season.

Due to FIFA's permission for legionnaires to suspend contracts with Russian clubs, the blue and white lost Ivan Ordets and Fabian Balbuena.

And Roman Evgeniev left as a free agent.

And if the Ukrainian has been out of the game since the end of February, then the last two cemented the team's defense in the second half of last season and played 56 matches for two in all tournaments.

The departure of three people at once added a headache to the coaching staff, and in the meeting of the first round of the RPL with Rostov, Slavisha Jokanovic had to use nominal full-back Sergei Parshivlyuk and 20-year-old Alexander Kutitsky in this zone.

The arrival of the young Paraguayan Roberto Fernandez should make life easier for Muscovites.

According to media reports, the contract with him was signed immediately for five years.

Allegedly, the previous team of the Guarani football player demanded € 4 million for his pupil, but the current bronze medalists of the Russian championship managed to bring down the price by € 500 thousand. The athlete himself did not hide the joy of moving.

“I never thought that I would be transferred so quickly and directly to Europe, I am proud and thankful to Guarani, who gave me everything,” Fernandez quotes D10.

The purchase of the Latin American can be called quite a successful deal for Dynamo.

Firstly, he is only 22, and he is able to become the main defender of the team for the next few years, and then move up to a stronger league.

Secondly, the rather high level of the player is evidenced by the fact that, starting from the age of 18, he regularly practiced in one of the strongest teams in the country, and in the last two seasons of the Paraguayan championship he was the main defender of Guarani.

He was also regularly called up to the youth teams and made his debut for the youth team, hitting the gates of Brazil in the selection for the Tokyo Olympics.

Robert's playing qualities are also beyond doubt.

He is powerful (188 cm), which allows him to fight well on the second floor and successfully connect to set pieces, and is uncompromising in the fight.

Adaptation can be the only problem.

Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that a young football player will quickly and painlessly get used to life in Russia and completely different from Latin American football.

Strengthening of CSKA on the defensive flank

CSKA, like many other domestic clubs, is also looking for strengthening in South America.

The left-back of Internacional Moises will most likely be the army player in the near future.

The Brazilian stressed that the match of the national championship with Palmeiras would be his last in the team, and the parties had already agreed among themselves.

This news certainly pleased the fans of the red and blue, because the left flank of the defense needed to be strengthened for a long time.

Last season, it was most often closed by universal midfielders Baktiyor Zainutdinov or Ivan Oblyakov.

It was the latter who settled in this position in the meeting of the first round of the RPL with Ural.

There is also an experienced Georgy Shchennikov in the roster, but he regularly falls out of action due to various health problems.

In this regard, the arrival of a newcomer will untie the hands of Vladimir Fedotov and add variability to him when choosing a line-up.

CSKA, along with Spartak, was interested in Moises at the beginning of 2017, but then it didn’t come to a transfer.

Now, when the Brazilian turned 27, the army team decided to try him in action.

There is no talk of a local league star coming to Russia.

For example, in the current season of the national championship, he first regularly remained in the reserve, but later made it to the base due to the injury of his main competitor Rene.

The defender took advantage of his chance and even hit the gates of Ceara and America.

At home, an athlete is often criticized for gross mistakes in the performance of direct duties.

And even in the current season of the Brazilian championship, his defensive metrics are quite modest.

On average, he makes only one tackle and 0.8 interceptions per match.

But the lateral is actively involved in the attacks and boldly goes to beat.

So, on account of his 1.3 dribbling attempts and 0.9 key passes.

However, relying on a middle-aged legionnaire, CSKA does not risk anything, since, judging by the media information, this is not about a full-fledged transfer, but about renting until the end of 2023.

In addition, Fedotov knows how to work with experienced players and reveal them from a new perspective.

And with a scheme with three central defenders, Moises' positional blots will not be so noticeable.

Increasing the attacking potential of Krasnodar

As for the European market, Russian clubs interact most actively with the Serbs.

The next representative of this country in the RPL turned out to be the midfielder of TSC Bačka Topola Mihailo Banjats.

For the young midfielder, according to Transfermarkt, the southerners paid only €1.6 million.

At first glance, this can be called an excellent investment, because a native of Novi Sad has led a modest team in the last couple of years, helping him to finish in fourth place twice and break into European competitions.

The contribution of a football player to the success of the team is difficult to overestimate.

So, last season he played 30 matches in the Serbian championship, in which he scored six goals and gave nine assists.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the whole game went through Banyats.

He competently directed attacks and created dangerous moments for partners.

Another advantage of Krasnodar's newcomer is the execution of set pieces.

He is not only able to perform an accurate serve from a free kick or corner, but also to independently strike.

Thus, he hit the gates of "Cukaričkov" in the last match of the Serbian championship.

Surely, Oleksandr Storozhuk will also be pleased with the versatility of the ward, since he is able to play in almost any position, not only in the center of the field, but also in the attack, and last season he even came out on the edge of the attack.

The main disadvantage of Mikhailo is defensive actions.

He does not always go into pressure in a timely manner and is not very strong in the fight.

However, the pros still outweigh this disadvantage.

Already now we can state: Krasnodar competently strengthened the midfield with Banyats and Ilzat Akhmetov, spending not the biggest money on it.

Option in the offensive line for Lokomotiv

In recent days, it has not been without an internal transfer.

At the beginning of the month, there were rumors that Ivan Ignatiev, who terminated the contract with Rubin after the team left the RPL, could join Lokomotiv.

As a result, they were confirmed, and the striker signed a one-year contract with the club with the possibility of prolongation for another year.

According to Match TV, the football player will receive only 1 million rubles a month in the capital.

But bonuses are provided for goals, effective actions and appearances in the starting lineup.

Allegedly, the extension of the agreement also depends on this.

The decision to strengthen with a pupil of Krasnodar is a big risk for the red-greens.

On the one hand, he is one of the most talented players of his generation, who managed to break into the base of the southerners at a young age.

On the other hand, after a bright 2018/19 season, during which the striker scored seven goals in the RPL, his game faded.

He hit the opponents’ gates less and less and more and more often remained on the bench, but he almost left his native club with a scandal, refusing to sign a new contract.

As a result, at the beginning of 2020, he nevertheless moved to Rubin for € 7 million. But this transfer turned out to be a complete failure for Kazan.

For all the time, he scored only three goals in their composition, and all of them from the penalty spot.

This was followed by an inglorious loan at Wings of the Soviets.

Fans of Lokomotiv can only hope that the 23-year-old Ignatiev has matured, and the team will get a motivated scorer, which she lacks with the departure of Jan Kukhta.

After all, in addition to Ivan from pure forwards, the coach can only count on Marko Rakognats.

In addition, the newcomer has a Russian passport and is not subject to the limit on legionnaires.

For him, the decisive moment comes, which must be realized.

If the striker does not prove himself in the capital, then he risks finally disappointing the entire Premier League and derailing a career that started so well. 

Zenith Clip Extension

Meanwhile, Zenit solved one of the main problems of the summer by extending the contract with key midfielder Wendel.

The new agreement runs until 2027.

Probably now the club is to some extent insured against the possible departure of the midfielder.

And even if he decides to leave Russia, referring to the FIFA verdict, he will remain a football player for the Petersburgers for a long time, and they will have the opportunity to return him and sell him profitably in the future.

Also, the current champions of Russia officially loaned Juri Alberto to the Brazilian Corinthians and received goalkeeper Ivan and winger Gustavo Mantua in return.

The arrival of both still raises big questions.

This is especially true for the goalkeeper.

By the age of 25, he had played only one meeting in the local Serie A and was more content with performances in the sub-elite division.

And this season, he spent two matches in the Brazilian Cup and one in the Libertadores Cup, in which he conceded two goals.

But three years ago, Ivan received a call to the adult national team of the country and remained in the reserve in two friendly matches.

It is difficult to say whether he is able to prove himself in the RPL, however, the Latin American is able to impose competition on the young and unstable Daniil Odoevsky and the age-old Mikhail Kerzhakov, whom Sergei Semak assigned to the reserve.

But the arrival of Mantua is guaranteed to add variability to the coach.

21-year-old Gustavo is able to close almost any position: play on both flanks, in the center of the field and even in attack.

And in Corinthians, he enjoyed much more confidence than Ivan, and regularly received practice.

Plus, the player is still quite young and able to make progress.

Curious lease of "Orenburg"

Actively enhanced by performers from Latin America and "Orenburg".

The team that returned to the RPL bought Costa Rican midfielder Jimmy Marin from Saprissa, signed a contract with Brazilian forward Diego Acosta, who previously played for KAMAZ, and rented Argentine winger Brian Mansilla.

At the beginning of the week, the latter was accompanied by compatriot midfielder Lucas Vera.

The Lanus player also joined the Russian team on a temporary basis - until the end of June 2023.

In his face, Marcel Lichka got quite an interesting athlete.

He spent the last goal in the "Huracan" and regularly appeared on the field in the matches of the championship of Argentina.

Most often, the coaching staff used it directly in the center or in the position of an attacking midfielder.

But in several meetings, a player with a height of only 164 cm was noted in the support zone.

At home, Vera's talent and universalism were appreciated.

In 2019, he received the first and last call-up to the youth team, although in the end he was content only with getting into the reserve.