 In 2009, he joined German side VfB Stuttgart.After two-and-a-half seasons, he moved to English Premier League side Fulham in January 2012, and then to Reading six months later.He is nicknamed "The Pog", "Pogreb" ("The Cellar") or Velikiy "Po" ("Po the Great"), the latter popularized by his former Zenit teammate Andrei Arshavin.