AFCON winner Mehdi Zeffane joins Krylia Sovetov

Mehdi Zeffane has joined Krylia Sovetov Samara on a free transfer, signing a two-year deal. The Algerian international full-back has been unattached since his release from Rennes last summer, where he had spent four years.

Aside from winning 15 caps for his country - including the final of last summer’s African Cup of Nations - Zeffane has made 13 appearances in the Europa League. Before Rennes, he spent three years with Lyon.

Krylia general Director Vitaliy Shashkov was pleased to get his man. “Mehdi has experience of playing for a top club of Ligue 1 [Lyon], it is important that he is a player of his national team,” he told the club’s official website. “We hope that his experience and professional qualities will help our team to solve the task set for the season.”