Belarus captain Siarhei Shtaniuk has left Russian Premier-Liga side FC Shinnik Yaroslavl and crossed the border into Ukraine, signing for struggling FC Metalurh Zaporizhya.

One-year deal
The 32-year-old defender has agreed a one-year contract with the Ukrainian Premier League club, although it does contain a clause allowing Shtaniuk to leave on 1 July. Fourth-from-bottom Zaporizhya will hope to benefit from Shtaniuk's years of experience, which have brought 60 caps for his country and spells at FC Dinamo Minsk in his homeland, Russia's FC Dinamo Moskva and Stoke City FC in England. At Shinnik, he made 27 league appearances in 2005 to help the team to ninth position in the table.

Firm intentions
"Zaporizhya made me a concrete offer," said Shtaniuk, whose new side hover two points above the relegation zone, although they are in the Ukrainian Cup semi-finals. "I was pleased that Zaporizhya coach Viacheslav Grozny called me several times - that determined that I was going to choose this club."