Who is Roman Yaremchuk? Meet Lyon's well-traveled striker
Roman Yaremchuk scored his first Ligue 1 McDonald's goal for Olympique Lyonnais over the weekend - learn more about the well-traveled Ukrainian international in our latest One to Watch.
Beginnings in Ukraine, success in Belgium
Born in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Yaremchuk has made a name for himself as an archetypal target man, his burly presence attracting defenders and allowing Lyon's wide players to find the back of the net, even if his own goal record has been somewhat patchy. With Lyon having done well without an orthodox striker to this point in the season, his fitting into Paulo Fonseca's system was a matter of time, but his play has steadily improved, with yesterday's display his finest yet.
After an early spell with local club Karpaty, Yarmechuk joined Dynamo Kyiv, one of Ukraine's most historically successful clubs. While he became a regular for his country's youth teams, a place in the first team with Dynamo eluded him, and he left on loan to play for Oleksandriya, turning in a strong display to help them finish fifth and reach Europe for just the second time in their history.
His strong play caught the eye of Belgian side Gent, and he moved to join the Buffalos in 2017. Despite some struggles with injury, he was a regular starter, and helped the team regularly reach Europe, becoming a senior international for his country along the way. Off the back of his strongest season -- 2020/21, in which he scored twenty goals in the league despite the season being chaotic for the club.
49' GOAL!
Endrick's pinpoint pass for Yaremchuk's header! And it's 1-0! 🔥
1-0 | #OLFCL pic.twitter.com/DuA0HqZOGx— Olympique Lyonnais 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@OL_English) April 12, 2026
Spells in Portugal, SPAIN and Greece
His play in Belgium attracted the attention of Benfica, and while his start to the season was uneven, he would go on to score crucial goals in the knockout rounds of the Champions League, eventually being eliminated by Liverpool. He also made global headlines for his post-match comments following a victory over Ajax, underscoring the impact the war against Ukraine had against him on a person level, saying, "This is so difficult for me but I am a professional. I need to fight here, fight on the pitch. My friends fight in Ukraine, my people fight in Ukraine and I need to fight here."
The following season saw his time in Portugal end, however, and he returned to Belgium to join Club Brugge, a side looking to rebuild following the departures of Charles De Ketelaere and Loïs Openda. He struggled to make an impact in a crowded attack, though, and was soon on move again. After another uneven loan spell with Valencia in Spain, he would join Olympiakos.
Despite the team winning the double, with a goal from the Ukrainian in the cup final, Yaremchuk was only a secondary option, as Morocco international Ayoub El Kaabi enjoyed a fine season. The current campaign was more of the same, and Yaremchuk leapt at the chance to join Les Gones on loan with a modest €4M purchase option. While he often appeared off the bench early in his time at the club, he has started more often regularly, and has developed a rapport with his teammates, something that was clear in his movement and anticipation for Endrick's cross yesterday.
Given the impressive displays put on by mobile, intelligent target men in Ligue 1 of late -- think Ludovic Ajorque, JoaquÃn Panichelli and Esteban Lepaul -- Yaremchuk's story could only just be starting.
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