From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Nov 2027
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Dmytro Riznyk: 3 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match3 Nov 2027
Shakhtar march on in the cup
Ahrobiznes are out and Shakhtar go through, 0-0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Match6 Nov 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 12 matches without defeat is a foundation Shakhtar did not have in the autumn.
Squad8 Nov 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Alisson gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match5 Nov 2027
Three points for Shakhtar, 2-1 the final word against Willem II in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Kauã Elias named player of the month
The award goes to Kauã Elias, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
Shakhtar release $5.0M for the manager
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Loan watch8 Nov 2027
“I did not go to Vorskla to sit and watch. I want to come back to Shakhtar and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market11 Oct 2027
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Match9 Oct 2027
Kolos made Shakhtar work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Loan watch11 Oct 2027
“I did not go to Vorskla to sit and watch. I want to come back to Shakhtar and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad11 Oct 2027
A season average of 7.21 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Loan watch11 Oct 2027
6 goals on loan for Newertton
11 appearances at Chornomorets and the goals keep coming. Shakhtar are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad11 Oct 2027
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Shakhtar that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Squad11 Oct 2027
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Shakhtar that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Loan watch11 Oct 2027
10 appearances at Epicentr and the goals keep coming. Shakhtar are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match11 Sep 2027
Derby day misery for Shakhtar
Losing 1-2 is one thing; losing to Dynamo Kyiv in a derby is a wound that takes months to close.
Market13 Sep 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Giorgi Gocholeishvili and Shakhtar agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad13 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Marlon Gomes
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market13 Sep 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Shakhtar will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Loan watch13 Sep 2027
“I did not go to Vorskla to sit and watch. I want to come back to Shakhtar and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
Loan watch13 Sep 2027
8 appearances at an average of 6.21. The minutes were the point and he is getting them, which makes the numbers harder to explain away rather than easier.
Market13 Sep 2027
The window shut and Marian Shved is still in the building
Shakhtar spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
Market13 Sep 2027
The name of Diego Arroyo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Shakhtar say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match7 Aug 2027
7 matches without a win for Vorskla
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Vorskla are no longer polite ones.
Market9 Aug 2027
The name of Ivan Ponomarenko has come up in conversations Vorskla were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match7 Aug 2027
Vorskla and Nyva cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Nyva came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market9 Aug 2027
The Jiří Klíma talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Vorskla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The terraces9 Aug 2027
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A new face in his position, and Matvii Burenko suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Vorskla have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Vorskla, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market9 Aug 2027
A season-long audition: Shakhtar still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Vorskla's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom24 May 2027
They will talk about this season in this town for a long time. The trophy comes home with the squad, and the route is already agreed.
Match19 May 2027
Shakhtar march on in the cup
Metalist are out and Shakhtar go through, 5-0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Match24 May 2027
Shakhtar up to position 3
57 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Match19 May 2027
Shakhtar make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Shakhtar have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad24 May 2027
A season average of 7.06 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Shakhtar know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad24 May 2027
Eguinaldo is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.46 with 7 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Loan watch24 May 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Shakhtar, and 9 appearances in 38 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad24 May 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Shakhtar pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Loan watch24 May 2027
25 appearances away from home and 9 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market8 Mar 2027
The bid was some way short and Shakhtar did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market8 Mar 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Shakhtar have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad8 Mar 2027
The award goes to Oleh Ocheretko, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Loan watch8 Mar 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Shakhtar, and 8 appearances in 28 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad8 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Valeriy Bondar
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Shakhtar, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Loan watch8 Mar 2027
24 appearances at Benfica and the goals keep coming. Shakhtar are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match20 Feb 2027
A derby is never about the football alone, but the football helped: 3-1, and the away end emptied early. Bragging rights renewed for another season.
Market22 Feb 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A season average of 7.38 with 7 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad22 Feb 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Dmytro Riznyk knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Loan watch22 Feb 2027
“I did not go to Torpedo-BelAZ to sit and watch. I want to come back to Shakhtar and fight for my place.” 3 appearances in 25 matches say the rest.
Squad22 Feb 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Shakhtar pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market22 Feb 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Shakhtar will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Loan watch22 Feb 2027
19 appearances at Alanyaspor and the goals keep coming. Shakhtar are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jan 2027
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Dmytro Riznyk: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match6 Jan 2027
Shakhtar march on in the cup
Ahrobiznes are out and Shakhtar go through, 2-2 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Match9 Jan 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Shakhtar did not have in the autumn.
Market11 Jan 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Shakhtar will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Match9 Jan 2027
Kryvbas made Shakhtar work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Loan watch11 Jan 2027
Isaque wants to come home
“I did not go to Naftan to sit and watch. I want to come back to Shakhtar and fight for my place.” 3 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Ivan Petriak gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Prosper Obah asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A first senior shirt for Denys Bida
Every debut is a small story about the future: Denys Bida, 17 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market21 Sep 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Match19 Sep 2026
A 3-2 win over Karpaty, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Prosper Obah gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market21 Sep 2026
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Shakhtar will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad21 Sep 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market21 Sep 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Shakhtar know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Eguinaldo has taken the shirt
At 22 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching from the bench. Places at Shakhtar are won quietly and lost loudly.
Loan watch21 Sep 2026
2 goals on loan for Newertton
3 appearances at Wisla Krakow and the goals keep coming. Shakhtar are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Market21 Sep 2026
No fee, no negotiation, no argument: Mykhailo Khromei moves on to another club with his contract settled and the wage bill a little lighter.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 Sep 2026
The medical room confirms 163 days on the sidelines for Łukasz Fabiański, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market7 Sep 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market7 Sep 2026
The name of Marian Shved has come up in conversations Shakhtar were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
314% of the income goes out in wages at Shakhtar
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Eguinaldo gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match5 Sep 2026
A bad afternoon for Shakhtar against LNZ
0-1 to LNZ, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Market7 Sep 2026
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Shakhtar will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Market7 Sep 2026
Eguinaldo placed on the list
Shakhtar have made Eguinaldo available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market24 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Match22 Aug 2026
Kolos made Shakhtar work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market24 Aug 2026
The name of Alaa Ghram has come up in conversations Shakhtar were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Market24 Aug 2026
Victoriia Sumy are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Shakhtar will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Marian Shved knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Shakhtar, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
The press have found their man in Pedrinho
Column inches are not points, but a footballer whose name keeps appearing for the right reasons is a footballer whose price has just gone up.