Monaco have confirmed the signing of Russia international Aleksandr Golovin from CSKA Moscow on a five-year contract.
Golovin showed his talent with some impressive displays at the World Cup as hosts Russia reached the quarterfinals. The midfielder had been a reported target for Chelsea -- as well as Juventus and Barcelona -- but has joined Ligue 1 side Monaco.
🖋 L'AS Monaco est très heureux d'annoncer la signature d'Aleksandr Golovin en provenance du @pfc_cska pour 5 ans, jusqu'en juin 2023 ! #WelcomeToMonaco 🇲🇨 pic.twitter.com/naZRMtN4EC
— AS Monaco 🇲🇨 (@AS_Monaco) July 27, 2018
Sources have confirmed to ESPN that a fee had been agreed between the two clubs, and on Friday Monaco announced the player had signed a contract until 2023 and he will likely come in as a direct replacement for Joao Moutinho, who recently moved to Wolves.
"I am very happy to sign at AS Monaco," Golovin said. "This is a new adventure for me that I approach with a lot of ambitions. I am now very much looking forward to meeting the staff and my new teammates and to get going."
Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev said Monaco had been following the player for a while and are happy to have finally wrapped up the deal.
"We are very happy with the arrival of Aleksandr Golovin at AS Monaco," Vasiley added. "He is a talented young player, very prominent during the World Cup, but we have been following him for a long time.
"He already has solid experience in Russian First Division and internationally. Despite the competition of very large European clubs, Aleksandr has chosen the sporting project of AS Monaco, which will offer him the best conditions to continue his progress."
Golovin, 22, has been at CSKA his entire career since making his debut in 2014 and helped the Russian side reach Europa League quarterfinals last season -- helping to eliminate Lyon along the way.
He scored a freekick at the Emirates when his side fell to a 4-1 defeat which eventually saw them exit the tournament. But it was at the World Cup where people seriously took notice of his capabilities.
Golovin scored a late freekick and contributed two assists in the 5-0 victory over Saudi Arabia, which opened the tournament, while he was crucial in their run to the quarterfinals -- scoring a penalty in the shootout win over Spain.