Michael

Hamburg are leading Kaiserslautern by a 2-1 score-line, which will place them in 3rd place in the 2 Bundesliga, if they get the win today. Laszlo Benes and Poreba scored the goals for Hamburg, while Ache scored Kaiserslautern's goal. It would be great to see a big club like Hamburg in the Bundesliga next season, it will be even more intriguing if we have both Hamburg based clubs, St Pauli and Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga next season. Hamburg have been so close to getting promotion in the last few seasons, it would be great if they could actually succeed in attaining that goal this season.

Frankfurt 2-1 Bremen Union 0-2 Leverkusen Freiburg 1-2 Leipzig Mainz 2-1 Darmstadt Köln 1-1 Bochum Heidenheim 2-4 Bayern Dortmund 2-1 Stuttgart Hoffenheim 2-1 Augsburg Wolfsburg 2-1 Gladbach

Paderborn 2-2 Hertha BSC Rostock 1-1 Wehen Hamburg 3-1 Lautern Nürnberg 2-2 Kiel Elversberg 2-1 Magdeburg Karlsruhe 2-3 St Pauli Düsseldorf 2-1 Braunschweig Hannover 2-1 Schalke Osnabrück 1-1 Fürth

First of all, I agree that £128 million is a crazy amount of money to spend, not only for Ukrainians but for any player around the world. Mudryk, in terms of natural talent, is up there with the best. The whole reason clubs are willing to spend a hell of a lot of money for raw young talents like him, is because of the potential that they see in them. I don't think Mudryk's talent is in question, it's his inconsistency that is the issue. In the toughest league in the world like the Prem, consistent performances is something that is demanded. But with Mudryk, he is a game changer in one match and then doesn't have the same affect in the next match. However, Mudryk is young and still developing and yes, 23 is still young. He has also become more consistent in recent months, which is something that is very promising. Yes, the Palmer example is an obvious one that people are going to pick up on. Palmer was bought for half the price of Mudryk as you said((47 million is still a lot, but anyway), so there was less pressure on Palmer and these comparisons are always going to be made. Palmer has been more consistent, that's true, and his decision making on the field is currently much better than Mudryk's, but in terms of natural ability, I think that Mudryk has more potential. Both top class players though in my eyes. For Sudakov, I think the idea would be the same, to invest in his potential, because similarly to Mudryk, he is an incredible talent. But yeah, the jump from the Ukrainian League to the demands and rigours of the best league in the world, is always going to be a challenge for any player who makes that move. Other Ukrainian players have also made a success of themselves in the Premier League though and in other top leagues, so I think that's what I meant might give Prem clubs additional confidence in buying the best Ukrainian players. I agree with your last point, Liverpool already have a lot of talent in the creative midfield position. There are other areas in the Liverpool team that need strengthening more. So it doesn't look likely that they will be the team to splash out on Sudakov and buy him this summer, also given the competition for his signature from other clubs as well. He has had moments of brilliance and then in other matches doesn't give as much. He is extremely talented, but yes, when you say "but not the brain", I assume you mean his decision making. His decision making is what I see as his main flaw and the fact that he doesn't work as hard as other players off the ball. There have been plenty of times he has been selfish, when the obvious best decision was to pass to a team-mate who'd have a better chance of scoring. This has happened quite a lot and I think it's the main criticism we can throw at him. The most recent example of this that I can think of was in Ukraine's recent match with Bosnia in a play-off match. Mudryk was in front of goal, with the keeper and 2 defenders in front of him, he had Yaremchuk to his right, completely unmarked and with an open goal in front of him, but instead of making the obvious pass, Mudryk decided to shoot at goal, but his shot was deflected by the defender and went out for a corner after narrowly going past the post. That chance could have made it 3-1 to Ukraine, but Mudryk decided to shoot instead of making the obvious pass, which would have no doubt lead to a goal. Another criticism I have of him, is that he doesn't close other players down nearly as much as he should, his work-rate off the ball could be better, although this seems to be slowly improving from him. I also agree that Poch has clearly helped develop his talent in recent months and Mudryk does seem to be maturing more rapidly as a player, which is a very promising sign.

Yeah, the asking price is huge, I think only Chelsea or Man City could really afford to maybe splash out that much on one player. Arsenal and Liverpool should also have relatively big transfer budgets this summer, but I think it's highly unlikely that they will splash out that much on one player. Yeah, he's always been a player who Shakhtar have rated highly, but really it was last season(2022/23) that he really developed into a key and highly influential player. He was the best player for Shakhtar and he has continued to perform excellently again this season for them. He is also now a key player for Ukraine and he was their man of the match in Ukraine's defeat of Iceland in the play-off final for the qualification for the Euros. He set-up both goals for Ukraine in that key match and he created some excellent scoring chances himself. I think it's a combination of his age and his excellent performances that will make the asking price so high. But also the fact that the likes of Dovbyk and Tsyhankov are playing excellently in La Liga and the talent that Mudryk has shown in the Premier League, has made foreign clubs have a lot more trust in Ukrainian players of a similar calibre. At 21, Sudakov is not only likely to demand a huge transfer fee, but he will also likely be on a very long term contract at the next club he joins. But I agree with you, it's difficult seeing Liverpool spend that much on one player. But the rumours around Sudakov joining a top European club in the summer are serious. Moreover, the Premier League looks his most likely destination, given the fact that he will cost so much.

Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea, West Ham, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Juventus and Napoli have all been linked with Ukrainian talent Georgiy Sudakov in recent weeks, but it is Liverpool who are the favourites to sign him. It will take Liverpool a bid of £128 million to buy Sudakov from Shakhtar Donetsk, as the 21 year old creative midfielder is one of the hottest properties in football right now. Sudakov has been a key player for both his club Shakhtar Donetsk and his national team Ukraine over the past 2 years. He has emerged as real talent, who is performing consistently at a high level. Liverpool enter race to sign Arsenal target rated at £128 million: Reports (sportskeeda.com)

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Valencia Bellingham 23

Kiel 2-0 Rostock Lautern 1-3 Düsseldorf Braunschweig 1-2 Elversberg Hertha BSC 2-2 Nürnberg Schalke 1-2 Karlsruhe St Pauli 3-1 Paderborn Magdeburg 1-2 Hannover Fürth 2-2 Hamburg Wehen 1-1 Osnabrück

Leipzig 4-1 Mainz Leverkusen 3-1 Hoffenheim Frankfurt 2-1 Berlin Gladbach 1-2 Freiburg Bremen 2-2 Wolfsburg Bayern 3-1 Dortmund Augsburg 2-1 Köln Stuttgart 3-1 Heidenheim Bochum 2-1 Darmstadt

It has been strongly reported that Tottenham want to buy Genoa's Iceland striker Albert Gudmundsson for €30 million. West Ham are also reportedly interested in signing the versatile Iceland forward. Gudmundsson was excellent in the recent Euro 2024 play-off matches. Gudmundsson scored a superb hattrick against Israel in the play-off semi-final. He also gave Iceland the lead against Ukraine with a beautiful goal, before Ukraine went on to win. But his performances in both matches were excellent and he has had a very good year for both Genoa and the Iceland national team. He looks like he could do a very job up-front for Tottenham if they do manage to buy him. Tottenham Transfer News: Albert Gudmundsson on the summer transfer shortlist (theboyhotspur.com)

Savio is a real talent and an excellent winger. He should really flourish at Man City.

Well he should definitely add speed to the team. I just hope he doesn't take banned steroids and fail a drugs test.

Chris Mepham is sent off for Wales right at the end of the match, as he receives his 2nd booking for a bad challenge on Polish substitute Romanchuk. The referee though has also blown his whistle for full-time, so we go to penalties, just as what happened in the Georgia v Greece match. Wales 0-0 Poland Lewandowski scores his penalty for Poland, sending Danny Ward the wrong way. Wales 0-1 Poland Ben Davies scores his penalty for Wales, as his shot goes down the middle. Wales 1-1 Poland Szymanski scores his penalty with a powerful left footed shot. Wales 1-2 Poland Kieffer Moore scores his penalty as he smashes his shot against the cross-bar and down into the net. Wales 2-2 Poland Frankowski scores his penalty for Poland, as his shot finds the roof of the net. Wales 2-3 Poland Harry Wilson scores for Wales, sending the keeper the wrong way. Wales 3-3 Poland Zalewski's penalty find the corner of the net. Wales 3-4 Poland Neco Williams scores his penalty as he sends Szczesny the wrong way. Wales 4-4 Poland Piatek scores his penalty for Poland, as he sends Ward the wrong way. Wales 4-5 Poland Dan James has his penalty saved by Szczesny, as Poland advance and qualify for the Euros in Germany! Poland defeat Wales on penalties! Final score: Wales 0-0 Poland (Poland win 4-5 on penalties)

Wales and Poland are really digging deep here in Cardiff, as we approach the end of the match. The Welsh fans have been loudly singing from start to finish. It's been a great atmosphere in Cardiff. Wales 0-0 Poland

Got the Ukraine match prediction correct as well.)

Piotrowski goes so close to giving Poland the lead in the 99th minute, as his shot from outside the area goes centimetres wide of the far post. Wales 0-0 Poland

It has gone into extra-time in Cardiff, as it's still 0-0 between Wales and Poland. Wales 0-0 Poland

It's all over, Ukraine win 2-1 and again come from a goal down, just as they did against Bosnia, to win 2-1. Ukraine dominated the 2nd half in Poland, despite a couple of dangerous counter attacks from Iceland and they have earned their place at Euro 2024 in Germany! Tsyhankov and Mudryk were the heroes of the day with their goals and Tsyhankov really showed how important he is also to this team. He had an excellent game and vindicated the manager in starting him. I thought the manager Rebrov got the team selection and the tactics spot on for this game. Final score: Ukraine 2-1 Iceland

Mudryk scores the winner for Ukraine! Mudryk swepte the ball home into the corner of the net after he was teed up with a short pass from Sudakov. That is a huge goal for Ukraine and probably Mudryk's most important goal of his career so far! Ukraine 2-1 Iceland

Iceland counter and Thorsteinsson has a shot from outside the area superbly saved by Lunin. Ukraine 1-1 Iceland

Huge chance for Ukraine, as the youngster Brazhko found Mykolenko in the area with a superb pass, but Mykolenko put his shot wide when in front of the Iceland keeper. Ukraine 1-1 Iceland

Sudakov has an excellent free-kick tipped over the bar by Iceland keeper Valdimarsson for a corner. Ukraine 1-1 Iceland

It's still a 0-0 in Cardiff, as Wales and Poland are yet to score. Wales 0-0 Poland

Zinchenko comes on as a sub for Malinovskyi and Zinchenko has an immediate impact as his through ball finds Yaremchuk whose good run and shot hits the side netting.