Shakhtar Donetsk Perpanjang Kontrak Lassina Traore hingga 2031

Klub raksasa Ukraina Shakhtar Donetsk resmi mengumumkan perpanjangan kontrak jangka panjang penyerang asal Burkina Faso Lassina Traore hingga musim panas 2031 pada Selasa (19/5/2026).

Langkah ini diambil oleh manajemen juara Liga Premier Ukraina tersebut untuk mengamankan aset lini serang mereka dari incaran beberapa klub Eropa lain yang memantau perkembangannya.

Traore bergabung dari Ajax Amsterdam pada Juli 2021 dengan biaya transfer 10 juta euro dan telah mencatatkan 115 penampilan serta membukukan 31 gol dan 23 asis di semua kompetisi.

Pada musim 2025/2026 Traore mencetak 7 gol dan 6 asis dari 19 laga di seluruh kompetisi, termasuk 7 gol dan 1 asis dalam 13 laga domestik setelah pulih dari cedera panjang.

Pemain berusia 25 tahun tersebut menegaskan alasannya untuk tetap bertahan di Ukraina demi kelanjutan karier sepak bolanya.

"Stability, the Champions League, and I find all the perfect conditions here, the trust at every level to develop." kata Traore kepada Africa Foot.

Keputusan bertahannya Traore mendapat respons positif dari sang pelatih Arda Turan setelah pertandingan sengit melawan Kryvbas yang berakhir dengan skor 3-2.

Turan memberikan pujian mendalam terhadap kualitas personal serta kontribusi besar sang penyerang dalam membawa timnya mengunci gelar juara liga domestik musim ini.

"We always have some small private jokes between us which we use in relation to whether he managed to score or not. For me, he is not only a footballer but, first of all, a person, and his contribution to us winning the Ukrainian Premier League title this season simply cannot be overstated. And I truly love him." ujar Turan dilansir dari laman resmi klub.

Selain performa individu pemainnya Shakhtar Donetsk juga tercatat sebagai tim paling efisien dalam penyelesaian peluang di UEFA Conference League musim 2025/2026 berdasarkan data resmi xG Swissquote.

Meskipun terhenti di babak semifinal klub asal Ukraina ini mampu mencetak 21 gol dari nilai harapan gol atau expected goals yang hanya sebesar 16,02.

Berikut adalah tabel efisiensi penyelesaian akhir tim-tim terbaik berdasarkan data resmi UEFA:

Pertandingan terakhir Shakhtar Donetsk di kompetisi domestik bermakna besar bagi komitmen klub terhadap para pendukung di tengah situasi menantang.

"We played here for the children and all the fans" kata Turan menegaskan pesan emosional skuadnya.

Turan juga mengungkapkan bahwa kelelahan fisik menjadi tantangan besar setelah laga melawan Obolon berlangsung selama 4 jam dan laga melawan Kryvbas memakan waktu hampir 5 jam akibat peringatan serangan udara.

"No, I wouldn’t say it is the most difficult period. First of all, we are here for the children and for all the fans present, so we knew why we were travelling here. I would compare it with other, in my view, more demanding periods – for example, when we had three UPL matches in a week, including the rescheduled game with Zorya, as well as period when we had to compete on two fronts, in the Ukrainian league and in European competitions. It is also always difficult to return after international breaks and get back into rhythm. So yes, it is physically demanding, but as I said, we played for the children and for everyone here in the stands. Despite the external circumstances, which of course were not very pleasant, we understood the purpose of what we were doing." ujar Turan.

Mengenai pergantian dua pemain akibat cedera di babak pertama sang pelatih menyebut jadwal padat dan perjalanan darat selama 16 jam sebagai pemicu utama.

"I think all the science in the world cannot provide a fully complete answer to that question. Given our schedule and the fact that we travelled here for 16 hours, there is no need to look for any special explanations. And if I’m not mistaken, in our last 16 matches we have regularly played two or three games a week, so I believe that says more than any explanation I could give." tutur Turan.

Manajemen Shakhtar Donetsk kini mulai mengistirahatkan beberapa pilar penting seperti Riznyk dan Mykola Matviienko demi mengurangi risiko cedera sebelum musim baru dimulai.

"We will think about it, and the decision will be made at the level of the club’s top management. We take into account all the minutes played over the season by each individual performer, as well as the potential risk of injury in this final stage of the season. If we go through the individuals briefly, Riznyk played a lot and deserved this rest; Kaua Elias and Alisson were injured, so they could also have left the club’s camp, but they continue to train individually. Mykola Matviienko has been called up very frequently to the Ukraine national team over the last two seasons, where he has also played full matches, so he was given time to rest in order to reduce the workload and the risk of injury ahead of the next season." kata Turan.

Terkait strategi belanja dan rencana transfer pemain baru untuk menghadapi fase grup Liga Champions mendatang Turan menyerahkan seluruh wewenang kepada manajemen klub.

"I’m responsible for building the team in tactical and technical terms, and of course the Champions League is a completely different level of competition and a different level of football challenge, but regarding the actual squad planning and recruitment, it would be better to direct that question to Darijo Srna." ucap Turan menutup sesi wawancara.