Oleksandr Saputin

Oleksandr Saputin came through Zorya Luhansk's academy after four years in Dnipro's youth ranks, signing his first professional contract with Zorya in January 2022 and making his senior debut in March 2023. The whole move cost the club nothing — no transfer fee changed hands, since he simply progressed through the system he had joined in the summer of 2020. Zorya have since tied him down with a contract running to 2028.

His performances have not gone unnoticed outside the club either. Saputin was named to the Symbolic Team of the Round for round 29 of the Ukrainian Premier League, and in April 2023 the CIES Football Observatory singled him out for his output relative to his age. He has also had a taste of international football, earning a single cap for Ukraine's U21 side on June 13, 2023, in a friendly against Kuwait U23 — coming on as a substitute in the 62nd minute and keeping the door shut for the rest of a 2-0 win.

A senior call-up for the national team has not yet followed, and major honours are still absent from his résumé. For now, his market value sits in the €600,000-900,000 range, though Zorya themselves reportedly price any future sale well above that figure.