Nikolay Poyarkov

Nikolay Poyarkov spent eight years in Spartak Moscow's youth setup before moving on to the Lokomotiv Moscow academy, and it was with Lokomotiv's reserve side, Lokomotiv-Kazanka, that he first made his mark. Playing in the Professional Football League, he helped Kazanka to bronze in the "West" zone in the 2017/2018 season and silver the following year, contributing 18 appearances and a goal. He was capped by Russia at U18, U19 and U20 level, featuring against Georgia's U19s and against Atlético Madrid's U20 side at the COTIF tournament in 2017.

He was registered with Lokomotiv Moscow's senior squad from 2017 to 2019 without breaking into the first team, and in the summer of 2019 he moved to FC Rostov for a fee of 300,000 euros. His Russian Premier League debut came that October, against FC Ural. Rostov became the club he returned to across several years, though loan spells took him elsewhere: to Rubin Kazan, to Fakel Voronezh, and to SKA-Khabarovsk, where he made 15 appearances and scored once.

His contract at Rostov, spanning 2019 to 2026, produced 35 senior appearances in total. After it expired, he signed for FK Sokol Saratov as a free agent, making 10 appearances there before a further move, to FC Rotor Volgograd, on a "2+1" deal. He is yet to add a senior Russia cap to his youth international appearances.