Liverpool in 'pole position' for €150m Chelsea & Arsenal target

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 16 Feb 2024 09:33 GMT
• 3 min read

Liverpool are currently leading the race to sign Shakhtar Donetsk star Georgiy Sudakov, according to reports, although they face competition from Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City.

Sudakov, 21, has attracted major transfer interest over the past year following his performances at the U21 European Championship last summer.

The attacking midfielder has three goals and one assist in 19 games in all competitions so far this season, but some of Europe’s biggest clubs are chasing him.

According to Calciomercato, via TEAMtalk, Liverpool are currently in ‘pole position’ to sign Sudakov, while Man City are also interested.

Barcelona, Napoli and Juventus have been linked with a move too, while Chelsea and Arsenal are known long-term admirers of the Shakhtar star.

He won’t come cheap, however, as a €150 million release clause was recently inserted into his contract at Shakhtar, as reported by Fabrizio Romano.

The transfer expert also revealed that offers of around €35-40m were rejected during the January transfer window.

Sudakov has an Estimated Transfer Value of just €15.4m, but it is set to cost a lot more than that to sign him in 2024.

Mykhailo Mudryk want Georgiy Sudakov at Chelsea

In late 2022, Arsenal were expected to sign Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk after his impressive displays in the Champions League group stages.

However, Chelsea hijacked the deal and signed the speedy winger for an initial fee of €70m in a deal that was seen as a major coup for the Blues.

After Mudryk and Sudakov shone together at the U21 Euros, Mudryk was asked whether he would like his international team-mate to join him at Chelsea. The current Blues star simply replied: “That would be great.”

However, Chelsea will likely be wary of pursuing Sudakov following the early failures of Mudryk’s move to Stamford Bridge. The Ukraine international has scored just four goals for the Blues since his transfer in January 2023.