According to journalist Igor Burbas, the Donetsk club is not negotiating the transfer of Artem Stepanov and is not considering his return in the near future.

Shakhtar Donetsk is interested in their former academy player Artem Stepanov, a 19-year-old Ukrainian forward currently with Utrecht who has 7 caps and 1 goal for Ukraine U21. The player's contract belongs to the German club Bayer Leverkusen, and he is on loan in the Netherlands, where Utrecht has a two-million-euro option to buy him. A meeting was scheduled to take place between Stepanov and representatives from the Donetsk team when the player attended a Shakhtar U-19 game against PSV. Shakhtar is in contact with the forward and is one of several clubs that have shown interest in him after a successful period at Utrecht, with a potential career continuation in the Premier League. Recent reports from September 2026 detail a subsequent €4 million buy-back clause for Bayer Leverkusen. In July 2026, the German club's management reportedly valued the player at approximately €10 million. His current Transfermarkt market value is €5.00m.