Aleksey Ionov has been rewarded for his good form with a new contract at Rostov. The Russian international has started every single Russian Premier League game this season for Valery Karpin’s side, and is the club’s second-top goalscorer behind Eldor Shomurodov.

This is Ionov’s most productive season for Rostov so far since his arrival in 2017.  The winger has had more direct goal involvements (12 - five goals and seven assists) this campaign than in either of his first two. By comparison, he had managed just three assists in 51 RPL games for Rostov before this season, and is only one goal behind his highest-scoring season at the club.

He has played for six different clubs in the RPL - Zenit St. Petersburg, Kuban Krasnodar, Anzhi Makhachkala, Dinamo Moscow, CSKA Moscow and Rostov - only making more appearances for Dynamo than for Rostov.

His renewal comes in the wake of Shomurodov, Danil Glebov and Mathias Normann all having their deals extended this week too.