Bukovyna of Chernivtsi, one of the newcomers to the Ukrainian Premier League, has announced a major reinforcement of its attacking line. The club has signed a contract with 27-year-old Azerbaijan national team striker Renat Dadashov, reports Sport RBC.UA, citing the team's press service. The foreign player joined Sergey Shishchenko's side on a free transfer, and the deal between the parties was structured on a "1+1" basis. The forward will wear the number 9 shirt for the "yellow-and-blacks".

Career path: from German academies to European leagues

Dadashov is a product of German football, where he trained in the academies of Eintracht and Leipzig. At youth level he represented the Germany U-16 and U-17 national teams, and with the latter he reached the semi-finals of the 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. In his professional career, the forward signed with English Premier League club Wolverhampton, after which he played in several European leagues: in Portugal for Estoril, Paços and Tondela, in Switzerland for Grasshopper, and in Turkey for Hatayspor and Ankaragücü. The last club in his career before moving to Chernivtsi was Poland's Motor Lublin.

Choosing the Azerbaijan national team and a goal against France

Despite his German origins and youth career with the German national teams, Dadashov later decided to represent the Azerbaijan national team. He has already made 45 appearances for it, scoring seven goals and providing two assists. In the 2026 World Cup qualifying round, where the Azerbaijanis were in the same group as Ukraine, the striker scored against the France national team in a home match that ended 1:3.

Debut and Bukovyna's current position in the UPL

The new forward is expected to make his debut for the Chernivtsi club as early as September 13 in the home match against Luhansk's Zarya. At the time the transfer was announced, Sergey Shishchenko's team are in 8th place in the UPL standings, with six points after five rounds. Notably, before signing with Bukovyna, Dadashov was without a club: according to Azerbaijani media, his previous transfer to Turkey did not go through, which made the free-agent move possible.