Lokomotiv Moscow of Russia defender, Bryan Idowu has received encouraging words for better fortune in his career at Russian Premier League newcomers, FC Khimki, as they are wishing him lots of success during his time on loan with them for the season that commenced on Saturday.
Megasportsarena.com reports that the encouraging message from Khimki came for the Russia 2018 World Cup Super Eagles’ full-back after the club served a formal confirmation that he will spend this season in a temporary deal with their newly-promoted team.
This serves as a new lease of life for Idowu, who was restricted to only 12 top-flight matches last season at Lokomotiv Moscow; but he appeared to start off well at his new base this weekend, as he got his competitive debut for FC Khimki against CSKA Moscow on the opening day of the new Russian Premier League season on Saturday.
That marked the beginning of new expectations from Idowu, who will play with jersey number four all through this season, as he finally seeks to stamp his authority since getting his Russian league debut against Akhmat Grozny on May 6, 2012 and a total of 112 appearances.
Anticipation is now rolling ahead of him, after Khimki stated that they were happy to officially announce that Russia-born Idowu has joined them on a season-long loan deal from Lokomotiv for the 2020/21 season and the club, which finished second in the second division last term, added that the 28-year-old former Amkar Perm star will help boost their defensive ranks.
The statement came after Idowu formally made the switch just few hours before their league opener against CSKA Moscow on Saturday, with the dark-skinned player, who arrives with the ambition of getting regular playing time, becoming the second African player in Dmitry Gunko’s team – after Ivory Coast’s Mohamed Konate.
This provides an opportunity of a career-revival for Idowu, who has spent his entire days playing in Russia, where he started with Zenit St. Petersburg’s youth academy, then moved to Amkar Perm in 2010 and later made his debut in the Russian Premier League two years later.
However, the eight years of his contract with Amkar Perm included a loan spell at Dynamo St. Petersburg in the 2013/14 season, but he left in July 2018 to sign a three-year with Lokomotiv, only for him to struggle for a shirt and featured in just 25 league fixtures across two seasons.
A similar downturn hit him on the international scene, as Idowu’s last outing for the Super Eagles was at the 2018 World Cup, where he played in all three group matches, but his last invitation was in September 2019.
Idowu ended as an unused substitute in Nigeria’s 2-2 draw against Ukraine in an international friendly, but he will now be hoping for a return to national team relevance, after he put pen to paper on Friday and quickly joined his new teammates in preparing for Saturday’s home outing against the former club of Chidi Ordia, Ahmed Musa and Aaron Samuel at Rodina Stadium.
He gained a morale-booster heading into the game, as the club stated: “The Red and Blacks rented Lokomotiv defender Brian Idowu. The loan agreement with the Nigerian defender is calculated until the end of the season. We welcome Brian to Khimki and wish him successful performances for our team.”
