Yaroslav Protsenko

Yaroslav Protsenko settled into first-team football, and his path to a starting jersey ran through some of Ukraine's lower divisions rather than a straight academy pipeline. He first appeared in an academy set-up as a boy, learning the position under coaches Oleh and Oleksiy Shchyhol, then passed through several other academy systems before a brief spell in Oleksandriya's structure yielded just a single youth-league appearance.

His senior career began in the amateur championship, followed by a move to Livyi Bereh, where he made his senior debut in a 2-0 win over Rubikon in September 2021 and went on to make eight appearances the following season. A period without a club followed in the first half of 2022. He then joined Nyva in Buzova without featuring for the first team, before a move to Hirnyk-Sport in the summer of 2023 gave him a proper run of games: a Ukrainian Cup debut against SK Poltava, followed by his First League bow against FSK Mariupol, and 13 league appearances across that season.

Protsenko signed for Metalist 1925 Kharkiv on a three-year contract in January 2024, on his 22nd birthday, and made his Ukrainian Premier League debut that March in a 1-1 draw with LNZ. He has since featured for the club's reserve side while continuing to be included in matchday squads for the first team in the First League.

Away from club football, he was named the best goalkeeper at a world student championship in 2023, playing for the Merkuriy DTEU student team, which took silver at the tournament.