Manchester City’s succession planning continues in earnest despite their ongoing disputes with the Premier League, as they become the latest English giants to keep tabs on Shakhtar Donetsk superstar Georgiy Sudakov.
Sudakov was expected to be the latest big-money Ukrainian to join a Premier League club in the summer, with Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur all long-standing admirers.
But no move materialised and the 22-year-old continues to dominate the Ukrainian Premier League, where he is the division’s top goalscorer, from midfield.
This will almost certainly be his last season in his war-torn homeland, with City identifying Sudakov as a potential midfield option, one with the character to be a pivotal part of the “next generation” of talent at the club, sources told i.
In an interview with i in May, Sudakov, who made his Shakhtar debut in a Champions League win away to Real Madrid four years ago, expressed his longing to move to the Premier League, linking up with his best friend and international teammate Mykhailo Mudryk.
“I was telling Misha [Mudryk] about how much I want to play in the Premier League and how it would be great to play in the same team.
“Misha told me that I was not ready for the kind of pressure that happens in England and if I do come I need to be ready for that. But I am.”
City does feel like the perfect fit, should they avoid any serious punishments if found guilty of alleged financial impropriety.
Several of their star names in central midfield who have been integral to their recent success are understood to be considering their options away from the club, having won all there is to win in Manchester.
Kevin De Bruyne is one who could depart with interest from Saudi Arabia persisting, while Bernardo Silva’s desire for a new experience is an open secret at the Etihad. Despite Rodri being a more defensive-minded player, his injury has exposed some unfamiliar weak spots in the City engine room.
Sudakov has also received plenty of praise for his character. Recently, he met children who lost their parents during the war and also plans to travel to the frontline areas to meet children there.
He also talked to children who had overcome cancer in Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital, Okhmatdyt, recently hit by a Russian missile.
The war in Ukraine rages on, making a move away all the more appealing. Shakhtar chief executive Sergiy Palkin has been outspoken on Sudakov, insisting his star player will not be allowed to leave on the cheap, after the club lost millions in potential player sales following Fifa’s decision to allow players to terminate their contracts in order to escape the Russian invasion.
“Everybody knows about Sudakov,” Palkin told the Thinking Football Summit in Portugal last month. “I believe he is the new European star.
“Half a year ago we had negotiations with Napoli. They proposed €40m [£33m]. But we believe that he costs much more. Therefore, we believe that in this Champions League he will show his best. Because he has the dream to play in a top-ranked European club. If he shows good football, I believe he will jump to this club”.
One of those clubs interested in Sudakov will get a first-hand look at their next potential big-money arrival as Shakhtar travel to the Emirates to take on Arsenal in the Champions League next Tuesday.