Russia Captain and Chelsea midfielder Alexei Smertin has joined Dynamo Moscow on a four-year deal, the Russian Premier League club said on its website on Friday.

The Russian captain struggled to make the first-team at Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea and was loaned to their English Premier League rivals Charlton Athletic at the start of this season.

He joined the Premier League champions, from French Championnat Ligue 1 side Girondins Bordeaux for £3.4m (€5m) in August 2003.

The 30-year-old becomes the latest high-profile signing by Dynamo, joining former Russia manager Yuri Syomin, who left the post after Russia failed to qualify for the World Cup 2006, finishing third in Group 3, behind finalists Portugal, and Slovakia who were knocked out by Spain in the play-offs.

Smertin will also team up with fellow Russian internationals - goalkeeper Sergei Ovchinnikov and midfielders Dmitry Khokhlov and Igor Semshov.

Ovchinnikov and Khokhlov moved to Dynamo from city rivals Lokomotiv, while Semshov signed from another Muscovite club, Torpedo.

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