New transfers in RPL! A rare case when a Russian champion club signs three newcomers on the same day. But Pari NN was able, at first glance, to seriously strengthen before the third round away match with Krasnodar – Nizhny Novgorod announced the transfers of Vyacheslav Karapuzov, Essien Ededema and Ze Turbo. We know the first of Dynamo and Akhmat, and we will get acquainted with the legionnaires.
In general, this summer, head coach Sergei Yuran, with the blessing of the club, changed the team to half. Pari NN already has 12 newcomers. Previously, goalkeepers Vitaliy Botnar (Torpedo), Ivan Kukushkin (Ufa) became Nizhny Novgorod players; defenders Dmitry Zhivoglyadov, Maxim Shnaptsev (both Lokomotiv), Mateo Stamatov (Orenburg), Dmitry Tikhiy (Khimki), Nikolai Tolstopyatov (Spartak); midfielders Alexander Troshechkin (Akhmat) and Ilya Kukharchuk (Torpedo). According to Transfermarkt, Pari NN spent just €330,000 on all of them, including the new trio. In addition, Zenit bought another €580,000 after the lease of Yaroslav Mikhailov.
Vladislav Karapuzov, Dynamo
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, Championship
For Karapuzov, last season was the most productive of his RPL career. In 18 games for Akhmat, the winger midfielder has scored twice and provided three assists. True, for Vladislav only one month period turned out to be really brilliant – from the end of April to the end of May, when he scored all five points. But one way or another, Karapuzov returned to Dynamo after the lease in the hope of gaining a foothold in the base after the appointment of Marcel Lichka as head coach. In addition, Akhmat finished the championship above the blue and whites, having starred in the best season in its history (finishing fifth).
Akhmat’s head coach Sergei Tashuev also wanted to keep the 23-year-old midfielder in the team. In June, he said in an interview for the club’s press service: “The dialogue with Dynamo is carried out by our sports department. Perhaps Karapuzov will appear in the team. How Dynamo will decide how Vlad himself will decide his future fate. We look forward to it anyway.”
It is even more surprising that Karapuzov did not stay at Dynamo and did not return to Akhmat. According to the midfielder’s agent, Roman Oreshchuk, only Pari NN agreed to loan the player out with a release obligation. It was reported that the Nizhny Novgorod club would buy the rights to the player from Dynamo for 40 million rubles if Vladislav played in 50% of the team’s matches. It’s quite real. Karapuzov, apparently, will close the positions of the right back or inside, depending on Yuran’s tactical scheme and tasks.
Essien Ededem, Al-Akhdar
Photo: www.cafonline.com
The 25-year-old Nigerian is a defensive midfielder. Transfermarkt values this player at just €175,000 and Pari HN has taken him for free. Ededem was a free agent after leaving Libya’s Al-Akhdar, he signed a two-year deal with the Nizhny Novgorod club.
There is a minimum of information about Essien, as well as about the Libyan championship. Al-Akhdar is known to have finished 4th in one of the two top division groups and fell short of making the top 6. In addition, he played in the CAF Confederation Cup – this is the African analogue of the Europa League. There, Al-Akhdar went through three qualifiers and then, in the group stage, came last in the quartet with rivals from South Africa, Algeria and DR Congo. Ededem played as a base in the 12 games of the CAF Confederation Cup, he did not carry out effective actions.
In Europe, the Nigerian played for the Armenian Van for two years: from February 2020 to December 2021. In addition, he started from the first league, and in the elite he played 38 games and gave two assists. He from Armenia and moved to Libya. Assuming that Ededem, in reality, does not have a confirmed level, his signing can be described, at best, as an attempt by Pari NN to win the lottery.
Ze Turbo, Al Markhia
Photo: Claudio De Capitani/ZUMA/TASS
Forward José Correa, nicknamed Ze Turbo, is 26 years old. He is from Guinea-Bissau but has gone through the youth ranks of big clubs like Sporting Lisbon or Inter Milan. Until August this year, Ze Turbo played in Qatar for Al Markhia (11 games, 4 goals) and moved to Pari NN as a free agent. Transfermarkt estimates the newcomer from the Nizhny Novgorod club at €550 thousand. He was immediately awarded a three-year contract.
However, Ze Turbo changes clubs so often that it is hard to believe that this striker will stay at Paris HH for more than one season. At the age of 26 he managed to play in Portugal for Tondela and Ollanense, in Spain for Marbella, in Italy for Catania, in Argentina for Newell’s Old Boys, in Paraguay for Nacional, in Switzerland for Schaffhausen and Grasshopper, as well as in China for Nantong. There, a soccer player from Guinea-Bissau lasted two years; this was the only exception, a career high. He then went to Qatar, where, according to the old custom, he had enough for six months.
Ze Turbo scored consistently only for Inter’s youth team (20 goals in 41 games) in 2015-2016 and for Nantong in the Chinese Second League (34 goals in 65 games) in 2021-2022. In all other teams, the striker, to put it mildly, did not shine in performance. One can only guess how he attracted the Pari NN management and coaches. Perhaps a combination of high growth and high speed qualities.
About seven years ago, just making his professional debut, Ze Turbo had an accident in Portugal. Returning from Lisbon and overtaking a truck on the track, the footballer lost control and crashed a Mercedes valued at around €50,000. Fortunately, Ze Turbo himself was not seriously injured, and he participated in the team training on the same day. Perhaps this is the most interesting detail in his biography.
