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.