– EXCLUSIVE from Graeme Bailey
Shakhtar Donetsk are preparing to sell Georgiy Sudakov with the likes of Liverpool, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Manchester City interested in bringing the Ukraine international to the Premier League.
HITC understands that, despite Georgiy Sudakov signing a new contract until the summer of 2028 – and with a release clause in excess of £100 million – the expectation is that arguably the most coveted talent in Eastern Europe will be on his way to a ‘top-five’ league during the summer transfer window.
Title-contenders Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are all keen on the gifted attacking midfielder. There is interest from Chelsea, Newcastle, West Ham United and Aston Villa too, plus a host of deep-pocketed clubs from across the continent.
Sudakov, also on the radars of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, has already confirmed the interest of a pair of Italian giants.
Arsenal and Manchester City in Georgiy Sudakov race
“(Shakhtar director) Sergei Palkin informed me about offers from Juventus and Napoli,” Sudakov explains. “Shakhtar rejected Napoli’s 40 million euro bid.
“The club want to get as much money as possible from my sale. Palkin has said I can go to Europe in six months or a year. I trust him and the President.”
It is not certain, at this stage, how much Shakhtar will demand. Any offers will have to be in excess of the £35 million put forward by Napoli, however. Shakhtar earned a staggering £88 million when they sold Mykhaylo Mudryk to Chelsea in January 2023. If that deal is anything to go by, Sudakov will not be leaving on the cheap.
We understand, however, that Shakhtar are gearing up for a sale.
Taking inspiration from Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham
Sudakov, capped 14 times by Ukraine, has seven goals and three assists to his name this season. He has already been labelled ‘the best football player’ in the country and ‘more talented’ than the aforementioned Mudryk.
Sudakov is also using Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham as an example, looking to take inspiration from the Real Madrid star’s remarkable goalscoring knack from midfield. Liverpool, one of the clubs’ keen on the Lugansk-born star, missed out on Bellingham last summer and appear to remain in the market for an energetic, box-crashing number eight.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Sudakov also likened his style to that of Man City’s Phil Foden and Tottenham’s James Maddison.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are looking to bring in reinforcements in a number of areas, including at centre-forward and at full-back. As far as midfield targets go, Mikel Arteta’s Champions League quarter-finalists are eyeing Douglas Luiz of Aston Villa, Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi and Bayern Munich ace Joshua Kimmich.
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