As was speculated over the past couple of days, Martin Bogatinov officially signed his contract on Sunday to become a member of Steaua.

The transfer was made official on Sunday when Steaua published several photos of Bogatinov on its facebook page.  At Steaua, Martin will become teammates with another Macedonian international in Daniel Georgievski.  As a matter of fact, the club’s general manager, Mihai Stoica, said after the signing that he spoke to Georgievski about Bogatinov before deciding to acquire the Macedonian goalkeeper.  Additionally, the Steaua manager also talked with Eric de Oliveira Pereira, a former teammate of Martin’s at Karpaty Lviv, before feeling comfortable to make the transfer official.

Bogatinov will face intense competition for playing time considering that the Steaua keeper Ciprian Tătărușanu is a highly rated Romanian international.  However, Tătărușanu only has a contract until the summer, and it is unclear whether Steaua will be able to sign him to an extension.  Furthermore, another Steaua keeper in Valentin Cojocaru is out with an injury, so that opened up a need for a keeper in the winter transfer window.  Steaua opted to fill that need with the 27-year-old Bogatinov.

Martin has chosen to wear the jersey #86, which has meaning to him since he was born in 1986.  After his signing, he will now join up with his new teammates during their winter preparations in Spain.

Bogatinov moves to Steaua on a free transfer after his contract with his former club Karpaty was terminated in November of last year.