Georgiy Sudakov has been linked with Liverpool and Arsenal (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Liverpool and Arsenal are among the clubs showing a strong interest in the potential transfer of Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Georgiy Sudakov, along with other clubs in the Premier League.
CaughtOffside understands that Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Newcastle United have all been scouting the talented young Ukraine international, whose superb impact at Shakhtar has seen him compared with Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk, who also looked a world class talent while he was there.
Sources with a close understanding of the player’s situation have informed CaughtOffside that the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal sent their scouts to watch Sudakov in his recent matches against LNZ Cherkasy and Veres Rivne.
The 22-year-old has impressed, and these clubs are now expected to step up their interest in him, though he won’t come cheap, with Shakhtar likely to demand at least €65m for their star player, CaughtOffside understands.
Georgiy Sudakov transfer: Will he end up at Liverpool or Arsenal?
Napoli previously saw a €40m offer rejected by Shakhtar for Sudakov, but is it now inevitable that we see him head to a bigger club in a major European league?
Arsenal could certainly do well to bring in some younger players in midfield, so Sudakov could really fit the bill as a long-term successor to ageing stars like Jorginho and Thomas Partey, both of whom are set to be out of contract at the end of this season.
Liverpool, meanwhile, notably tried and failed to sign Martin Zubimendi in the summer, so Sudakov could make sense as an alternative to the Real Sociedad playmaker.
It will be interesting to see if these clubs are willing to pay big for Sudakov, however, as they’ll no doubt have seen just how much Mudryk has struggled since joining Chelsea with the pressure of a big price tag on his shoulders.
Sudakov perhaps looks like he could fare better, but it’s never a guarantee that even the most talented players will find it easy to make the step up to the Premier League.
