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Tom OlverPublished May 6, 2024, 3:37pm|Updated May 6, 2024, 3:38pm
Chelsea have opened negotiations to sign Shakhtar Donetsk ace Georgiy Sudakov ahead of the summer transfer window.
Sudakov, 21, has scored 14 goals in 87 games since breaking into Shakhtar’s first-team in 2020 and is widely regarded as one of the finest young talents in Ukrainian football.
However, speculation has been mounting that the £65million-rated Sudakov could be set to leave Ukraine for pastures new at the end of the season, with a host of Europe’s elite clubs queueing up for the midfielder’s signature.
According to The Daily Mail, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are among the clubs keeping tabs on Sudakov’s situation and the Ukraine international is also attracting strong interest from Serie A.
However, Chelsea are leading the race for Sudakov, with the club entering into discussions with Sudakov’s representatives in recent weeks to get a gauge on what it would take to lure the youngster to west London.
The report adds that Shakhtar’s chief executive Sergei Palkin was invited to Stamford Bridge as a guest for the Blues’ rampant 6-0 victory over Everton last month.
‘This summer window, he [Sudakov] has a big chance to move to some big clubs,’ Palkin told reporters after the visit.
Palkin suggested Sudakov would ‘definitely’ be leaving Shakhtar for a ‘top European club’ this summer and claimed ‘many people’ had asked him about the playmaker during his trip to England.
‘We have had some contacts with big clubs and some are not negotiating with us directly but are getting a feel for the summer environment,’ he added.
‘He will definitely move to a top European club this summer.
‘When I was at Chelsea versus Everton, many people asked me about Sudakov.’
Last summer, Mykhailo Mudryk claimed it would be ‘great’ to link up with Sudakov at Chelsea as his fellow countryman finished as the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship’s joint-top goalscorer.
After assisting Sudakov in Ukraine’s quarter-final win over France, Mudryk said: ‘Usually it’s the opposite – he gives it to me and I score. And now he scored a penalty, and I thought – I need to score more.
‘I do everything for my friend, I hope he just keeps scoring. I’m just promoting him!’
Asked whether he would like to see Sudakov follow him to Chelsea, Mudryk responded: ‘That would be great.’
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