The president of FC Shakhtar, Rinat Akhmetov, held a strategic meeting with head coach Arda Turan, general director Sergey Palkin, and sporting director Dario Srna. The meeting took place on the eve of the 3rd round match of the Ukrainian Premier League (UPL) against "Kharkiv" and focused on closing the summer transfer window, as well as preparing the team for the season. The leaders of the Donetsk club discussed the team's current form, possible squad reinforcements, and ambitious goals on the European stage.

Transfer strategy and competition in the UPL

The key topic of discussion was the state of the transfer market. Rinat Akhmetov admitted that the club had not executed all planned deals but noted the existence of a temporary buffer. "We haven't done everything we planned, and we still have 17 days to do so," declared the president of the "miners." He emphasized that the team would continue working on strengthening the squad until the summer window closes.

Special attention was paid to the growing competition in the Ukrainian championship. Akhmetov expressed the opinion that Shakhtar's rivals have seriously strengthened their squads, which will inevitably lead to fierce competition for the title. "My colleagues — presidents of other clubs — have done a lot... I am convinced that the fight in the championship will be extremely difficult," he noted. Despite this, the club's management is focused on defending the championship title and creating worthy competition.

Champions League: "A wonderful journey"

An important agenda item was Shakhtar's participation in the new format of the Champions League. The draw for the league phase of the tournament is scheduled for August 27. Akhmetov called the upcoming performance in Europe's premier club tournament a "wonderful journey." The club president expressed hope that the team could gain positive emotions from matches at the highest level and work with an "elevated pulse" for good results.

Personal thanks to the head coach

A special emotional emphasis during the meeting was placed on supporting head coach Arda Turan. Rinat Akhmetov thanked the specialist for his work in Ukraine under wartime conditions. "Arda, thank you very much for being here, in our country. Like all Ukrainians, you wake up to missiles, to bombs. You are an ambassador of the Turkish people," Akhmetov said. He also emphasized that he is convinced that Ukraine will withstand and obtain a fair and long-term peace.

Contradictory data

In the press release published by Sport RBC.UA, it is stated that the meeting took place "on the eve of the 3rd round UPL match against 'Kharkiv'". At the same time, at the end of the text, it is noted that "in the 3rd round of the UPL, 'Shakhtar' suffered a victory in a difficult match against 'Kharkiv'". Such wording creates a chronological inconsistency: if the meeting was *on the eve* of the match, then at the time of publishing the news, the match should already have taken place, which changes the context from "planning before the game" to "summarizing results." The editorial board notes this discrepancy in the source data.