ZTE targeted Zorja Luhanszk's Bosnian midfielder, Dejan Popara, but the transfer did not happen. Ukrainian journalist Igor Burbas reported that the Hungarian club made a concrete offer for the 23-year-old former youth international and initiated negotiations with Zorja. Transfermarkt values Popara at around 800,000 euros. The two clubs could not reach an agreement on the transfer. The transfer failed because ZTE could not agree with Zorja's president, Yevgeniy Geller, on the requested sum, so ZTE withdrew from further negotiations and Popara remained at the Ukrainian club. Popara, who has six caps for the Bosnia U21 team, joined Zorya in January 2025 and his contract is set to expire in June 2028.