Andrey Mostovoy leaves Zenit for Lokomotiv on loan

Andrey Mostovoy's move from Zenit to Lokomotiv Moscow has drawn comment from both his old club's coaching staff and a namesake with no family connection to him.

Zenit assistant coach William de Oliveira told Sport-Express the decision to let the 28-year-old midfielder leave on loan until the end of the 2026/2027 season came at Mostovoy's own request.

"There was no particular moment when we decided, right, now we need to let Most go. It's simply that circumstances worked out and he found himself a club. He asked our management about it, spoke to the coaching staff, and we made a joint decision that Most could get more playing time at Lokomotiv than he would with us. Everything has been agreed. We are very grateful to Mostovoy for the time we spent together. There was a good spell where he was our super-player, and a spell where he played a bit less. Even so, he added a great deal to our group — not only on the pitch, but in the dressing room too. We wish him luck, just not in matches against Zenit," said Oliveira.

Mostovoy had been at Zenit since 2019, making 209 appearances in all competitions, with 42 goals and 23 assists. He has played two matches for Lokomotiv this season and scored once.

Separately, former Spartak midfielder Alexander Mostovoy — no relation — praised the transfer while assessing Lokomotiv's summer business, and used it to take aim at players content to sit on the bench elsewhere.

"It's clear that of Lokomotiv's top-level transfers, there's only Andrey Mostovoy. Dzhikia will help, but he's injured. I don't know much about the rest. Andrey did well to move to Loko, and he's even brought them a win, scoring against Baltika. Sitting on the bench is one thing, playing is another. A lot of players can sit at Zenit and boast about trophies, and over all that time they've got 10 games and zero goals. You think afterwards: blimey, who even is this?" said Alexander Mostovoy.

Zenit currently list no goals from those 10 appearances the veteran midfielder referred to, though he did not name a specific player. Andrey Mostovoy's goal against Baltika came in a match Lokomotiv won, a result that followed Sergei Karasev's return to officiate that fixture on 6 September after missing the previous round.