Niger international striker Ouwo Moussa Maazou has joined PFC CSKA Moskva having left Belgian team KSC Lokeren OV for a fee reported to be in the region of €4m.

Brought forward
The 20-year-old was expected to join the Russian side in the summer, once the Belgian season was over, but it was decided to push the move through earlier, with the player already registered to compete in the new Russian campaign. "It was difficult for me to focus on Lokeren because I was already thinking about CSKA," admitted Moussa Maazou. "I thought it would be better for both me and Lokeren to make the move at once."

Belgian success
The Niamey-born Moussa Maazou played in Niger and Togo before joining Lokeren on a five-and-a-half year contract in January 2008. He has scored 15 goals in 31 league games for the club, 14 of them this season, and has been capped five times by Niger. He will not be eligible to play for CSKA in the UEFA Cup, having joined after the European transfer window closed. He will be available for the league campaign, however, with CSKA kicking off at FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast on Sunday.