Shakhtar Donetsk officially announce the signing of Brazil U19s international center forward wonderkid Kauã Elias from Fluminense..

Shakhtar Donetsk announced on its official website on Wednesday that the club has signed Brazil U19s international center forward wonderkid Kauã Elias from Fluminense.

According to Shakhtar Donetsk's official statement, Elias has has signed on a long-term five-and-a-half-year deal with the club which runs until the winter of 2030. At the same time, he will also wear the No. 19 jersey which was vacated after former Ukraine legendary international defender Dmytro Chyhrynskyi had retired.

In addition, according to the news brought by The Athletic, the Ukrainian Premier League defending champions paid a total of €15 million in transfer fees to Fluminense to sign Elias.

After completing his joining procedures, Elias, who was interviewed by the Shakhtar Donetsk official website for the first time, said: "I am very happy to join this club! I have realized my dream and the dream of my family."

"From the first minute I came to Shakhtar Donetsk, I felt a friendly atmosphere. There are many Brazilians in the team, which is also good, so my adaptation will be as easy as possible. I have had the opportunity to talk to them at dinner, they are all good people, friendly and kind. This also applies to everyone at the club. I will do my best to represent Shakhtar Donetsk at all levels."

This transfer also completely quashed rumours claiming that Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, Manchester United, Everton and Barcelona are all interested in competing for the signing of Elias.

About Kauã Elias

Elias, who is only 18 years old, was born on March 28, 2006 in Uberlandia, Brazil. He is 1.81 meters tall and plays as a center forward. His grandfather José is also a former goalkeeper at a local non-league club in Uberlandia.

Elias was sent to a local football academy in Uberlandia by his grandfather since he was a child. Later, he was spotted by a Fluminense scout and officially joined the Fluminense youth academy in 2017.

Since his youth academy days, Elias has already attracted the attention of scouts from major clubs across Europe with his high goalscoring efficiency.

In May 2023, Elias completed his Fluminense first-team debut by coming on  as a substitute in a Copa Libertadores match. He was only 17 years old at the time. Since then, he has quickly become one of the main players in the Fluminense first-team.

During his one-and-a-half-year spell at Fluminense, Elias played 47 times for the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club in all competitions, scored 8 goals, assisted 2 times, and won the Copa Libertadores once with the club.