Lokomotiv loan for Parks

UEFA Champions League contenders FC Lokomotiv Moskva have announced their first recruit of the winter after completing a loan deal for the 21-year-old Costa Rican international forward Winston Parks from Udinese Calcio.

Russian honour
Parks will become the first Costa Rican to play in the Russian Premier-Liga, signing a one-year deal. The only other player from Central America to play in Russia is Jamaican Robert Scarlett, who appeared once for FC Spartak Moskva in 2002.

Obiorah injury
The decision to sign Parks was taken after Nigerian international James Obiorah suffered a serious injury which will probably prevent him from playing in Lokomotiv's remaining second group stage games, starting with the visit to AC Milan on 19 February. A further void in the squad had been created by Ghanaian striker Baba Adamu's release earlier this month.

Commonwealth Cup success
Parks scored two goals in four games in the Commonwealth Cup while on trial with Lokomotiv. He made his debut for Costa Rica in November 2001 against Jamaica, and scored against Turkey in the FIFA World Cup finals last summer. In 2001, Parks moved from AD Limonense to Udinese for €2.1m on a five-year contract. However, he never made his debut for Udinese, the club sending him on loan to Ascoli Calcio in Serie B.