Anton Kovalev

Anton Kovalev came through the Shakhtyor Soligorsk academy, joining its youth setup in 2017 and appearing in the UEFA Youth League before making his first-team debut in November 2019. A loan to Latvia's Tukums 2000 in March 2020 produced no appearances at all — the pandemic intervened before he could play a match. A season on loan at Isloch in 2021 went better: he made 25 appearances and picked up a Belarusian Cup runners-up medal.

The move that shaped his career came in January 2022, when he signed for Torpedo-BelAZ as a free agent, with Denis Gruzhevsky going the other way. Over three seasons there he made 92 appearances across all competitions, scored seven goals and set up nine more, and won the Belarusian Cup and Belarusian Super Cup while collecting three bronze medals in the domestic league. He also featured in the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023. In his final season at the club he led the squad for chances created, with 26, and attempted more dribbles than any teammate, completing just over half of 145 attempts.

He left as a free agent in December 2024, signing for Fakel Voronezh on a contract running to June 2027. A brief detour followed this year: a January loan to BATE, where he won the Belarusian Cup after beating Dinamo Minsk on penalties in the final, before returning to Fakel in June. His time in Russia has been modest so far — six appearances between the league and the Russian Cup without a goal or assist. At youth level he made two appearances for Belarus under-21s, debuting against Iceland in September 2021.