Hamrun Spartans announce first signing of season

Estonian international defender Nikita Baranov is the first signing for the Premier League Champions for the upcoming 2021/2022 season.

The 28-year-old centre back has been capped 43 times by his country and last played in the Cypriot Premier League with Karmiotissa.

The 1.84m defender will certainly bolster further an already strong Spartans’ backline – the team having conceded the lowest amount of goals among all Premier League teams (20, joint with Hibernians FC) in 23 matches.

The Estonian international has a vast international experience, having not only represented his country in World Cup qualification matches but also played in a number of European leagues, including Norway with Kristiansund and Bulgaria with PFC Beroe Stara Zagora. He had also represented his country at youth level.