Two-time Norwegian football champion Nikita Khaikin did not stay long without the club.
In November, his contract with Bodø-Glimt ended and he became a free agent.
And the other day, the Russian signed an agreement until the end of the season with Bristol City, which plays in the second division of the English championship.
In the current political situation, this can be considered a landmark event.
The proposal received by the goalkeeper indicates that he was closely followed in Britain, especially in the fall there was information about Everton's interest in him.
Earlier there were rumors of interest from other English clubs, such as Norwich and Watford.
Moreover, we can safely assume that Khaikin was hardly taken on the role of a reservist.
In the Championship, as in the Premier League, there are no strict limits on foreign players, but the vast majority of teams still use, if not the British, then English-speaking athletes, for example, Americans or Irish, or goalkeepers who have been playing in the country for a long time, at the last frontier.
Bristol, on the other hand, invited a Russian, albeit one with the citizenship of the United Kingdom, but who had not previously played in the UK.
On the other hand, the club is at minimal risk, because the term of the agreement is only six months.
By the age of 27, the goalkeeper has accumulated solid experience.
Firstly, he played for more than three years in Norway, where similar power football is preached.
Secondly, he twice won the gold medals of the national championship with Bodø-Glimt.
Thirdly, he clearly showed himself in European competition.
Last season, his team reached the quarter-finals of the Conference League, defeating Roma 6-1 in the group stage, and knocking out strong Celtic and AZ Alkmaar in the playoffs.
He himself had 17 meetings, including qualifications.
This season, Bodø-Glimt almost made it to the group stage of the Champions League, but in the end was content with playing in the Europa League.
In addition, Nikita knows the language perfectly.
In his youth, he was an intern at Chelsea, and then defended the colors of the youth teams of Portsmouth and Reading, although he failed to gain a foothold there.
Another factor indicating that the Russian was signed with an eye on the starting lineup is the departure of Daniel Bentley.
For three and a half seasons, the Arsenal graduate was not only the first number of Bristol City, but also the captain and dropped out of the base solely due to injuries and suspensions.
However, in the winter he went to promotion to Wolverhampton, who are fighting for survival in the Premier League.
In his absence, Max O'Leary got the chance.
In 16 matches in all competitions, he conceded 19 goals and left the gate intact three times.
In addition, O'Leary was called up to the Irish national team last year.
However, in recent years, Max was content with the role of Bentley's changer (even went on loan to Shrewsbury Town) and never rose above the Championship, not to mention European competition.
In this regard, Khaikin has a clear advantage.
But he doesn’t have to count on a debut in the Premier League in the near future either, because Bristol has not played in the elite division since 1980.
After that, the club slipped lower and lower, forcing the fans to sadly recall past successes.
The revival of the team began in the mid-noughties, when he returned to the Championship.
However, it is still not possible to rise above.
The best result in the 21st century is fourth place in the 2007/08 season.
In the current draw, Nigel Pearson's wards are still only on the 17th line, being seven points above the direct relegation zone.
They showed themselves excellently in August-September, scoring five victories in the first nine rounds, and even took the lead.
However, a deep recession followed.
In the last 19 meetings of the national championship, Bristol beat only three rivals, including outsiders Birmingham and Rotherham United.
The main scourge of the team is defensive actions.
In 28 meetings of the national championship, she conceded 38 goals and shares 18-19 lines in this indicator.
But Khaikin is guaranteed to have enough work, and he will get a great opportunity to prove himself to opponents and in the summer, after the end of a short-term contract, move to a more classy club.
But the main thing is that the pupil of the FSM "Torpedo" in the conditions of sanctions paves the way for other Russians to the strongest European championships.
Yes, and domestic goalkeepers have not performed so brightly in the Old World for a long time.
Stanislav Krytsyuk returned to the RPL twice and, after an unsuccessful stretch at Zenit, defends the colors of the not-so-strong Portuguese Gil Vicente.
Andrei Lunev sits in a deaf reserve in the German Bayer.
Yuri Lodygin also has almost no practice in the Greek Panathinaikos.
Finally, the 2013 European Youth Champion Anton Mitryushkin failed to play in Switzerland due to severe injuries.
Khaikin, on the other hand, stubbornly tried to prove himself in Europe: first in English, and then in Portuguese and Spanish teams.
Then he performed in Israel with varying success.
And in 2019, the football player made a fateful step - he signed a contract with Bodø-Glimt.
Now he can go down in history as the first domestic goalkeeper to play in the Championship.
Yes, and only Dmitry Kharin previously played in the Premier League, who in the 1990s spent 132 matches in all competitions for Chelsea.
But in the course of a successful segment in Norway, Nikita, for sure, could repeatedly move to the RPL on good terms.
In addition, in 2021 he received his debut call-up to the Russian national team.
It was reported about the interest in him from the "Zenith".
The last time such rumors appeared in the summer.
A goalkeeper who has played in several countries would certainly come in handy for Petersburgers, since at present their first number is the age-old Mikhail Kerzhakov.
Blue-white-blue clearly could offer the goalkeeper significantly better conditions, but he chose not money, but a dream, as Leonid Slutsky once did, exchanging one of the strongest RPL CSKA teams for the modest Hull City, who also played in the second strongest English division.
Khaykin himself has repeatedly admitted that he misses British football and wants to try his hand there again.
Now his career can become a great example for other young Russians.
The same Sergey Pinyaev and Arsen Zakharyan, who have great potential, should be prepared for the fact that they will not immediately go like clockwork in the strongest championships of the Old World, but one should not give up and return to the RPL.
Moreover, one should not be afraid to go to modest teams, so that, having proven themselves there, then go for a promotion.