Premier League club could host Champions League matches despite not being in competition
Shakhtar Donetsk could be playing their Champions League home games in England next season.
The Ukrainian champions are in talks with various clubs over hosting their Champions League fixtures next season.
Shakhtar haven't been able to host continental matches in Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, with UEFA banning Ukrainian clubs from playing European ties in the country on safety grounds.
The club have been displaced since 2014, when fighting in the Donbas region forced them out of the Donbas Arena in Donetsk after the ground was hit by shelling.
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They've since shifted between Lviv, Kharkiv and Kyiv, and have played their home domestic league games back at the Arena Lviv since the start of the 2023-24 season.
For their European ties, Shakhtar spent last season in Poland, hosting their Conference League home games at Kraków's Henryk Reyman Municipal Stadium - the 33,326-capacity home of Wisła Kraków.
Wisła president Jarosław Królewski has confirmed the club won't make their ground available next season following their promotion back to the Polish top flight.
That's left Shakhtar searching for a new base, with the club confirming negotiations with venues across the UK and Germany. London is understood to be their preferred destination.
Brentford's 17,000-seater Gtech Community Stadium has emerged as the frontrunner.
The Bees have strong Ukrainian ties with the neighbouring boroughs of Hounslow and Ealing home to large Ukrainian communities
The club has also supported displaced Ukrainian families through local projects.
Brentford are also no strangers to renting the Gtech out for extra revenue. They've hosted rugby union side London Irish between 2020 and 2023, the Unity Cup in 2025, the World Sevens Football Tournament in May and a string of international fixtures.
An official Shakhtar spokesperson said: "Shakhtar is currently negotiating with several venues in the United Kingdom and Germany in order to secure a host stadium for its UEFA Champions League matches next season. We will not comment on the process until a decision is announced in the near future."
Shakhtar will bypass July's qualifying rounds and enter the Champions League directly at the league phase, which begins on September 8 and runs across three consecutive days.
Marcus Banks