Few players have lit up the Russian Premier Liga quite like Aleksey Miranchuk. The mercurial attacking midfielder is coming off the back of his most electric campaign in which he scored twice against 36-time Italian champions Juventus in the Champions League, which has drawn admiring glances from across Europe.

The story so far

Although he now plies his trade in a bustling metropolis of 15 million people, Aleksey Miranchuk was born far from the madding Muscovite crowd in a small town in the south of Russia, Slavyansk, on the banks of the Kuban river. There he attended the Olymp football school with his twin brother Anton, before moving to Moscow to join the Spartak academy in 2010.

After being dropped by the Red-White youth setup for a lack of physical development, they were both soon picked up by Lokomotiv, where they became three-time national champions at their age group. Aleksey scored twice in finals, as well as being named player of the tournament in 2012. That autumn he was promoted to the youth team for whom he made his debut against CSKA; the following spring he was moved up again to the senior squad, before making his full debut against Kuban Krasnodar on 20 April 2013.

Although still at the relatively young age of 24, Miranchuk is embarking on his ninth season at senior level for Lokomotiv Moscow. He has scored in every one of them, although his last campaign was by far his most productive as he scored a career-high 12 goals in the RPL, and 16 in all competitions.

He already has five major trophies to his name, winning silverware in all but one of the last six seasons. As a teenager he scored an extra-time winner in the Russian Cup Final in 2015 before scoring again in the final two years later. He completed a hat-trick of cup wins in 2019, before scoring twice in this summer’s Russian Super Cup to make it four goals in eight domestic finals. In the 2017/18 season when Lokomotiv became RPL champions Miranchuk was the team’s second top scorer alongside Manuel Fernandes with seven goals.

He has scored five goals in 25 appearances for his country since making his debut as a 19-year-old in July 2015, and was a member of the World Cup squad that made the quarter finals two years ago. 

He is currently rated at his highest-ever value on transfermarkt.com of ₤16.2m, making him the joint-fourth most valuable player in the RPL after CSKA Moscow pair Mario Fernandes and Nikola Vlasic (both ₤19.8m) and Zenit St. Petersburg winger Malcom (₤27m).

Similar playing style

His twin brother Anton! Both are technically gifted creators who can play across the attacking line behind the main striker as conductors. Aleksey has a wonderful first touch, demonstrated none more so than his spectacular individual goal on matchday three - a clip of which received over half a million likes on 433’s Instagram page - when he hooked an awkward cross with his back to goal past Kaio Panteleao before slotting home past Matvey Safonov.

Two seasons ago Aleksey took a relative back seat as Anton was the more direct of the two, outsourcing his more illustrious twin 11 goals to three in the RPL. The fact they can so readily replace each other in the lineup is a measure of how similarly they play.

Did you know...

Lokomotiv’s leading light has his own fan club - in the shape of new teammate Jasurbek Jaloliddinov. “My idol is Aleksey Miranchuk, it's true - I want to meet him,”  the Uzbek wonderkid recently said after his transfer to the Railroaders. “I am very happy to train with him. “We play in the same style, and I am also left-footed. I am confident that I can improve with him.”

What they say about Aleksey Miranchuk

“Aleksey Miranchuk has struck a great rhythm. We hope that he will play in the national team, let's say, in a masterly way. I think his time has come.” - Stanislav Cherchesov, Russia national team manager.

“I liked Aleksey Miranchuk - he’s a left-sided player a great quality with a good left foot.” - then-Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri after Lokomotiv’s 2-1 defeat to the Italians last year, in which Miranchuk gave the Railroaders a first-half lead.

“Aleksey Miranchuk can play for any team in Europe. His value is much higher than what is currently being discussed. Look at all his goals; he is the best player in the RPL. Miranchuk is no worse the Kai Havertz at Bayer.” - former Lokomotiv Moscow manager Yury Semin.

Photo: Lokomotiv Moscow