Witsel focuses on settling in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA – SEPTEMBER 14: Axel Witsel of FC Zenit St. Petersburg looks on during the Russian Football League Championship match between FC Zenit St. Petersburg and FC Terek Grozny at the Petrovsky Stadium on September 14, 2012 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

St. Petersburg, Oct 11 – Axel Witsel says he is gradually adapting to life in Russia since joining Zenit St. Petersburg in a 40 million move.

The Belgian midfielder became the most expensive player in Russian history along with Brazil forward Hulk when they signed for the champions last month.

Witsel is joined by his girlfriend Rafaella Szabo, which he said has made settling down easier.

“We’re happy to be here together in St. Petersburg,” he said in an interview posted on the Zenit website Wednesday, adding that the couple would bring over their two dogs from Belgium soon.

“We’ve been around the centre a little bit. I’m working on getting settled down here first. We`ve just moved into our own house and we have to get set up there.”

Witsel said he often socialises with fellow Belgian Nicolas Lombaerts despite the fact that the defender counts Flemish as his first language, while Witsel’s is French.

Witsel has only played three times for Zenit after he was hampered by a hamstring injury he picked up on his debut. He already has 31 caps for Belgium at the age of 23 and has scored five times for his country.