Andrey Nikitin

Andrey Nikitin broke through as a teenager at Salyut Belgorod before a free move took him to Ryazan and then to Fakel Voronezh. His transfer to Lokomotiv Moscow followed, but he was sent out on loan six times, turning out for Fakel Voronezh again, Kazanka Moscow, Ufa, SKA-Khabarovsk, Arsenal Tula and finally Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. That last loan, arranged in January, became a permanent free transfer the following summer. The move to Neftekhimik paid off in front of goal. Nikitin scored in a win over Rodina, added another in a 4-0 defeat of Chernomorets, and struck late to help beat both Sokol and Yenisey. He was on target again in a home defeat to Volga Ulyanovsk and equalised late on against Shinnik. The goals against Sokol, Yenisey and Shinnik all came after the 75th minute, a pattern that suggested a player who kept working chances until the final whistle. That form did not keep him at Neftekhimik for long. In the summer of 2026 he moved on again, joining FC Volga Ulyanovsk — the very club he had scored against only months earlier.