RPL is back! Today, July 20, the 1st round starts. What has changed in the two months without the Russian Championship? We have already talked about the updates for the RPL giants. But a lot has also happened for the league’s middle-class clubs. We are issuing updates for these teams.
“Rostov”
Rostov spent the first part of the 2023/2024 season unsuccessfully. But Valery Karpin’s team had a great spring and eventually finished in seventh place. In the summer, goalkeeper Sergei Pesyakov, the long-time number one, left Rostov. Goalkeeper Nikita Medvedev also left the team. Instead of them, the Club acquired three (!) players at once: Rustam Yatimov was taken from the Tajik Istiklol, Khidayet Hankich from the Bulgarian Botev, and Daniil Odoevsky from Zenit (on loan). At the training camp, the first two were given equal opportunities, and the third was transferred only in mid-July.
Rodrigo Saravia
Photo: fc-rostov.ru
Rostov also bought Bulgarian defender Umar Sako, who performed well in the RPL in the spring. And the main acquisition for Rostov was Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Saravia. Rostov acquired the 23-year-old from Peñarol for 1.95 million euros. Saravia could have moved to Russia in the winter, but then rejected the transfer. And now Karpin has received a great reinforcement in the midfield.
Konstantin Kuchaev moved to Rostov as a free agent. The CSKA graduate never became the team’s leader (injuries and instability hampered him), in the winter of 2024 he left for Paris NN and at the end of the season he parted ways with the Club. Now it’s a new stage.
We expect an excellent season from Rostov:
Rostov is different now. Karpin may no longer talk about the task of avoiding relegation
“Ruby”
After returning to the RPL, the Kazan team had a good season and finished in the top 8. But the two-time Russian champion has higher ambitions. The main thing is that Rubin renewed the contract with Rashid Rakhimov. Although at the end of the season there was talk of changing the coach in Kazan. But in the off-season, Rakhimov had the opportunity to work quietly.
Rubin parted ways with several players: goalkeepers Yuri Dupin and Egor Shamov, defenders Maciej Rybus, Alexander Martynovich, midfielders Leon Musaev, Soltmurad Bakaev, Darko Jevtic and forward Mikhail Kostyukov. In general, the Kazan team cleaned up the squad to suit the needs of the coach.
Who did they take in his place? There have been three transfers so far: goalkeeper Artur Nigmatullin was acquired from Paris NN, and goalkeeper Evgeniy Staver and midfielder Aleksandar Jukic were signed as free agents.
Arthur Nigmatullin
Photo: rubin-kazan.ru
But the Kazan team has problems related to football. At Euro 2024, Rubin and Albanian national team striker Mirlind Daku allowed himself to insult Serbians and Macedonians. UEFA suspended the player for two matches and the club announced disciplinary and financial sanctions. Daku has already apologized, but Rubin still has three Serbians playing: Igor Vujacic, Bogdan Jocic and Nikola Cumic. The players may no longer treat Dak with warmth.
Daku’s Story Details:
The RPL striker was banned from the European Championship after a scandal. The insults by the Serbs could not be justified.
“Wings of the Soviets”
Last season, Krylia Sovetov fought until the very end to get into the top five, but in the end they finished ninth. Not the worst result, but the Samara team is capable of more. In the summer, “Wings” set the course not for large-scale changes in the squad, but for working with the current players. Although transfers still took place. The main thing: Samara sold left-back Yuri Gorshkov to Zenit. “Wings” also made money by selling winger Aleksandar Ćirković to “Bačka Topolu” for 1.2 million euros (last season he was on loan in Serbia), and Nikita Saltykov left for “Loko” (the transfer was agreed in the winter). So far, the only addition to the Samara team has been goalkeeper Sergei Pesyakov (signed as a free agent). The club already has decent goalkeepers: Ivan Lomaev and Bogdan Ovsyannikov. It seemed that buying a goalkeeper was not the most important need. But the club’s management knows better.
Sergey Pesyakov
Photo: pfcks.ru
The Wings’ transfer market is still underway. For example, En Cancha reports that the Samara team is close to acquiring Chile and Godoy Cruz defender Tomas Galdamez. The 25-year-old will sign a three-year contract with the Wings. Transfermarkt estimates Galdamez’s value at 2.5 million euros.
In June, “Championship” spoke with the “Wings” goalie:
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“Football players are lying when they say that between 50,000 and 100,000 thousand a month is enough for them.” Sincero Lomaev
“Akhmat”
After Magomed Adiev took over as head coach, Akhmat managed a five-game winning streak, protecting themselves from relegation. Although a month before the end of the season, everything was difficult for the Grozny team. In the new season, Akhmat is unlikely to allow a similar situation to occur. In the summer, the club signed a three-year contract with Adiev – a strong investment for the future. There were also changes in the leadership of Akhmat: Magomed Daudov left the post of president, and Akhmat Kadyrov took his place.
Arsen Adamov
Photo: vk.com/akhmatgrozny
Several important players left the Grozny team: defender Andrei Semenov, midfielder Artyom Timofeev and forwards Mohamed Konate and Vladimir Ilyin. The loan of Yasmin Celikovich also ended and winger Nene Gbamble moved to Torpedo. Who did Akhmat acquire? First of all, the club bought winger Svetoslav Kovachev from Bulgarian Arda. Akhmat also strengthened its defence: Alexander Zhirov moved as a free agent and Arsen Adamov was loaned by Zenit. The most important signing is that of Mauro Luna Diale. The 25-year-old midfielder was bought from Union Argentina for 1.85 million euros.
Adiev told how he accepted and saved Akhmat from relegation:
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“Magomed, it’s not your fault, but…” How Adiev transformed Kazakhstan into Grozny and saved Akhmat
“Torch”
The Voronezh team is starting its third season in the RPL. The first year it took 14th place, the second – 11th. “Fakel” is on the rise! Will the Voronezh residents be able to rise higher? A difficult task, but a lot depends on preparation. In the summer, the team conducted a large-scale transfer campaign. Several players left Fakel as free agents: Roman Akbashev, Maxim Maximov, Andrey Mendel, Ruslan Magal, Kirill Suslov and Daniil Chernyakov. Interestingly, they all left as free agents. In addition, midfielder Nikolai Poyarkov returned to Rostov.
Vladimir Ilyin
Photo: fakelfc.ru
But Fakel also acquired many players. The club signed midfielders Dylan Mertens (Botev) and Nikolai Giorgobiani (Alania) for free, as well as forwards Mohamed Brahimi (Botev) and Vladimir Ilyin (Akhmat). Mikhail Shchetinin was loaned from Lokomotiv, and defender Max Dziov was bought from Dynamo Brest for 80 thousand euros.
RPL club kits for the 2024/2025 season:
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“Orenburg”
Orenburg escaped to the RPL without even getting into the joints. However, the club still made drastic changes to the line-up. Coach David Deogracić stayed, but 12 players left the team at once! For Dmitry Vorobyov, Orenburg received 2.5 million euros from Lokomotiv, and for Lucas Vera – 1 million euros from Khimki. Goalkeeper Andrei Khodanovich was loaned to Chaika, Alexander Pavlovets, Renato Gojkovich, Vladimir Obukhov, Mikhail Sivakov and Vladimir Poluyakhtov left the club as free agents. And Arsen Adamov, Leo Goglichidze and Nikolai Titkov have closed their lease contracts.
justin leather
Photo: fcorenburg.ru
Who joined Orenburg’s squad? Striker Justin Cuero was acquired from Ecuadorian Independiente for 2 million euros, and Jordi Thompson (1.2 million euros) from Colo-Colo. Both were previously on loan at the club. In addition, midfielder Said Sakharkhizan was acquired from Iranian Gol Gohar (1 million euros), and two players were bought from Zenit-2: midfielder Alexey Baranovsky and defender Artyom Kasimov. Also, goalkeeper Bogdan Moskvichev arrived on loan from St. Petersburg’s second team. Do you think that’s all? No! Orenburg also signed two free agents: Dmitry Rybchinsky (ex-Lokomotiv) and Georgy Zotov (ex-Krylia Sovetov).
David Deogracia has a tough task ahead of him. He needs to assemble a fighting team from a group of players as soon as possible. Orenburg had a good pre-season, though: the club won four out of six matches and only lost to Dynamo (1-4).
Where do you see Orenburg at the end of the 2024/2025 season?
Classification
Popular RPL table for the 2024/2025 season
“Paris Nizhny Novgorod”
Another club that we will not recognize in the new season. The Nizhny Novgorod team failed in the spring, was on the verge of relegation to the First League, but in the play-offs beat Arsenal Tula. Paris NN kept its place in the RPL. In the summer, the club had a great transfer campaign.
Pari NN left: goalkeeper Artur Nigmatullin (Rubin, €700,000), Konstantin Kuchaev, Dmitry Stotsky (both free agents). Nine players joined the club’s squad. Goalkeeper Nikita Medvedev and midfielder Stanislav Magkeev arrived as free agents. Pari NN bought Vladislav Karapuzov from Dynamo Moscow for €400,000 and Nikita Ermakov from CSKA (€250,000). The most expensive transfer is the purchase of midfielder Luka Vesner Ticic from Slovenian side Koper for €450,000.
Stanislav Magkeev
Photo: vk.com/fcparinn
Nizhny Novgorod residents also made a number of budget purchases. Defensive midfielder Dan Glaser (100 thousand euros) was acquired from Greek OFI, and forward Ognjen Ozegovic (30 thousand euros) was acquired from Kifisia. In addition, 19-year-old forward Stanislav Lapinsky (85 thousand euros) left Zenit-2, and defender Evgeny Lukinykh (82 thousand euros) left Loko-2.
RPL Online Transfers. All transactions in one place:
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