Atalanta B.C. announce the permanent signing of footballer Viktor Kovalenko from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Born in Kherson on the 14th February 1996, despite his young age, he can already boast a great international experience both at Clubs and National teams level. He has always been in the youth selections since the U16s, and he made his senior team debut while still very young in March 2016. Since then, he has made 30 appearances, including three caps at the European Championship in 2016.

He came up through the youth academy of Shakhtar Donetsk and he completed his growth path by making his senior team debut as soon as he turned 19 in February 2015, the year in which he was also among the key players of the U19 that got to play in the final of the UEFA Youth League thanks to his six goals (two of them were decisive in the semifinal against Anderlecht and one in the final against Chelsea).

He soon became a fundamental part of the first team, with whom he won everything in their country: three championships, four national cups and two super cups. Golden Boot having scored 5 goals at the U20 World Cup in New Zealand with his national team, he was also the best young player of the Ukrainian league in the 2015-2016 season. Since his debut in the Ukrainian Premier League, he has nearly made 200 official appearances with Shakhtar, with 32 goals and 12 assists. As regards Europe, he has played 47 games so far, including qualifications, between the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League, the competition in which he reached the semi-finals twice.

After facing Atalanta in last year’s edition of the Champions League, he is now ready to wear the Nerazzurri shirt.

Welcome, Viktor!