CSKA bring Nigmatullin home

PFC CSKA Moscow have pulled off a major coup by landing Russia goalkeeper Ruslan Nigmatullin on loan until the end of the season. 

Owned by Verona
The deal also contains an option to extend the loan period for another six months when it expires in December. Nigmatullin's registration is actually owned by Italian club Hellas-Verona FC, the club he joined last winter from FC Lokomotiv Moscow after winning the Russian Player of the Year award for 2001.

Welcome boost
Nigmatallin has already settled in at CSKA, having passed a medical and attended his first training session. The return to action will be a welcome boost as the 27-year-old hardly figured for Verona last term in a dismal finish to the season that saw them relegated from the Italian top flight.

National team chance
His only match for Verona came as a substitute in a match against Internazionale FC and he had the misfortune of conceding three goals. The move back to Moscow will also help Nigmatullin's chances of remaining as Russia's first-choice goalkeeper, as his new club coach Valeri Gazzaev is also in charge of the national side.