One of the Russian Premier League’s biggest stars has made a move to La Liga, joining Spanish side Celta Vigo on loan until the end of the 2019-20 season.
Celta Vigo came to an agreement with Lokomotiv Moscow on the penultimate day of the winter transfer window to bring Fedor Smolov to Galicia until the end of the season.
Smolov, a 29-year-old forward who joined Lokomotiv after scoring 64 goals in 101 games with FC Krasnodar from 2015 to 2018, found himself in and out of the starting lineup with the Russian heavyweights this season.
After a widely-praised summer in which Celta brought in talented players such as Denis Suarez, Santi Mina, and Rafinha, they have failed to score goals and live up to their billing as an up-and-coming La Liga squad.
They have managed to score only 17 goals in 21 matches this season, the second-lowest total in the league. Celta currently finds itself in 18th place, just below the relegation line.
Smolov, whose prolific goal-scoring abilities have been on display both with Krasnodar and the Russian national team, will look to become the goal scorer that Celta has lacked this season and to save the team from an unexpected relegation.
