By David Gold
February 21 – Ailing Russian Premier League side Tom Tomsk have been given 50 million rubles (£1.06 million/$1.7 million/€1.2 million) to invest in new players after being saved by state energy giants Rosneft and Gazprom last week.
Rosneft has given the club the new transfer budget following the 194 million ruble (£4.13 million/$6.5 million/€5 million) investment made by themselves and Gazprom last week in exchange for a 50 per cent stake in the team.
The aim of the investment is to help keep the club in the Premier League, though they currently sit bottom of the table ahead of the resumption of the league in two weeks’ time.
This is a transitional season in Russia as the Premier League moves from its usual spring to winter schedule to run in line with other major leagues from autumn to spring.
The league is being divided into two from March 3, with the bottom eight sides battling to avoid relegation.
Tomsk are seven points away from sixth place in their group, which would mean they would be involved in a relegation play-off instead of being directly demoted, and a further three off fourth spot and guaranteed safety.
The transfer window closes in Russia at the end of the week, meaning the club is running out of time to sign new players.
They must also finish resolving all unpaid player wages before they can buy new players.
Tomsk were banned from signing new players as they teetered on the edge of bankruptcy last month, when Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin stepped in to save the club for the second time in three years.
Putin said that he hoped big energy companies would be able to invest in the club to save them from extinction after Tomsk’s regional government withdrew their funding at the end of last year, leading to the intervention of Rosneft and Gazprom.
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