Who are the seven key players that make RPL interesting?

The new season of the Russian Premier League is just around the corner. This was reported by www.euro-football.ru.

The online publication “Evro-Futbol.Ru” highlighted six football players who are particularly noteworthy for the upcoming season. Manfred Ugalde — “Spartak” (23 years old, forward) Ugalde is the top scorer of the Russian championship for the 2024/25 season. Although the Costa Rican player's performance in the spring period was not as bright as in the autumn season, he still deserved a worthy reward.

According to renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano, since January, Ugalde has attracted interest from “PSG”, “Monaco”, and several clubs from the English Premier League. However, the player's agent stated in a recent interview that Ugalde will not move to a strong team just for the sake of the club's name.

He may spend the next season at “Spartak”, as he does not want to jeopardize his playing practice before the World Cup. If Ugalde and “Spartak” perform well in the new season and the player showcases his talent at the World Cup, he will open doors to larger teams, especially against the backdrop of a shortage of pure forwards. Eskiel Barko — “Spartak” (26 years old, forward midfielder) Barko is a master who can handle almost everything on the field.

Despite having a strong character at such a young age, it is difficult to understand why he is still not playing in one of Europe's top leagues. Barko is a key central player for “Spartak”.

If he is not leading in the game, the entire team's performance declines. If Barko leads the team again in the new season, major European clubs may show interest in his services. Matvey Kislyak — CSKA (19 years old, defensive midfielder) He is one of the main revelations of the past Russian championship, especially in the spring period.

However, due to the short second half of the RPL, it remains unclear whether this success is temporary or if Kislyak will continue to develop. This question will be answered in the new season, which starts in less than three weeks.

Currently, there are reports in the media that “Fenerbahce” is interested in Kislyak. However, the likelihood of his transfer is low, as CSKA does not sell its trainees cheaply.

The club has set Kislyak's price at approximately 30 million euros. Aleksey Batrakov — “Lokomotiv” (20 years old, forward midfielder) Batrakov is one of the main revelations of the past Russian Premier League. He sharply entered the main squad of the team and justified the hopes of head coach Mikhail Galaktionov.

It is not common to see such high efficiency from young Russian players lately, but Batrakov had an excellent season with 15 goals and 10 assists in 37 games. He also scored beautiful goals for the national team.

Now it is interesting to see if the second-season syndrome will affect him. Practice shows that the second season is much more challenging for a young player than the first, but if Batrakov can overcome all difficulties, he may head to Europe. Aleksandr Sobolev — “Zenit” (28 years old, forward) He is the main failure of the past Russian championship.

Sergey Semak brought Sobolev to “Zenit” as the main striker. Perhaps the coach still has the image of Dzyuba in his memory, but Sobolev is a completely different player.

He could not adapt to “Zenit”'s unclear gameplay and only started scoring towards the end of the season. This transfer was recognized as unsuccessful within the club, and they attempted to sign Mirlin Daku from “Rubin”, but failed to reach an agreement.

It will be difficult to see a new version of Sobolev in the new season. Perhaps he will leave to help “Sochi” during the winter transfer window. Viktor Okishor — “Dinamo” Moscow (18 years old, forward midfielder) He is the only player on the list who has not yet fully revealed himself.

For this reason, it will be interesting to pay attention to him in the new season. Recently, we have been seeing a steady rise in young Russian players, so Okishor could be the next star.

The new head coach Valery Karpin highlighted Okishor's unconventional thinking during his first training session. Karpin is considered one of Russia's best specialists in working with young players. Author: Dmitriy Milyaev