To Russia with love - Reggae Boy Nicholson heads to Spartak Moscow

After two years in Belgium, national striker Shamar Nicholson will be continuing his career in Russia for the foreseeable future.

Nicholson, 24, signed a long-term deal with Spartak Moscow yesterday, ending his two-season stint with Belgium club RSC Charleroi in the midst of a rich vein of goalscoring form. He will officially join Spartak next month when the January transfer window opens. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The announcement was made on the club's website yesterday.

Nicholson, former Boys' Town player, joined the Belgian outfit in 2019 from Slovenian club NK Domzale after scoring 20 goals in 56 appearances for the club. In his first season with Charleroi, he scored 10 goals in all competitions, eight of those in the Jupiler league to help the team finish third in the league, their highest finish to date. Nicholson then netted nine league goals last season, but has seen his best production to date with the club this year, netting 13 league goals, including two hat-tricks, the most recent of which came on Sunday in a 4-0 win over KAS Eupen.

In a statement released by Charleroi yesterday, the club wished him all the best in his new chapter and thanked him for the contributions he has made to the club.

"The staff, the management and the whole Zebra family wish Shamar good luck and thank him for everything he has been able to bring to the club in recent years," the statement said.

Nicholson leaves the club having scored 31 goals and registered 11 assists during his time in Belgium. He will join a Spartak Moscow team that is currently ninth in the Russian league with 23 points, seven points adrift from a European competition place and 13 points from second place which guarantees a place in the Champions League qualifiers.

Andrew Price, Nicholson's coach at Boys' Town, is predicting that the player will do well at his new club.

"I am sure he is going to make his mark and be a success. He has the quality to do that and he has proven it. He has done it in Slovenia and in the Belgian League. So wherever he goes I believe that he can continue to produce," Price said.

Nicholson, who has 10 goals in 29 appearances for Jamaica, has scored 13 goals in 18 Belgian Pro League games this season.The Russian Premier League is now on its winter break and Nicholson could make his debut for his new club on February 26, 2022 when Spartak face CSKA Moscow.