Georgiy Sudakov - Shakhtar Donetsk to Liverpool for £128 million?

[Michael]

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)

 

 

[Danny]

Feels like the least Liverpool signing ever in terms if transfer fee, Chelsea however...

[Redcanuck]

Can't say I have ever heard of him.     £128m dosent seem like a Liverpool type transfer.

Edited April 2 by Redcanuck

[Dr. Gonzo]

That is an absolutely insane fee for someone who's only played in the Ukrainian league tbh. I have serious doubts about there being anything in this. It's not really a position where I'd say we've got a particularly big need to strengthen either.

[Michael]

1 hour ago, Danny said:

Feels like the least Liverpool signing ever in terms if transfer fee, Chelsea however...

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.

38 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

That is an absolutely insane fee for someone who's only played in the Ukrainian league tbh. I have serious doubts about there being anything in this. It's not really a position where I'd say we've got a particularly big need to strengthen either.

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.

[Dr. Gonzo]

9 minutes ago, Michael said:

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.

I feel like if anything Mudryk would scare off other premier league sides from paying a steep asking price for a promising young Ukrainian. Mudryk has potential sure, but at 23... I'd say he looks some way off a lot of other younger players who have potential and do offer more consistency and quality. Look at Palmer at Chelsea, for example. Less than half the price of Mudyrk... and he's 1.) looking like he's got more potential than Mudryk, 2.) is performing at a much higher level than Mudryk.

Not to say that Mudryk is a particularly bad player or anything - I just think he made a big step up and the prices Arsenal and Chelsea thought were reasonable now look like a massive overinflation in value; I think he's a player that sort of tells a cautionary tale to other clubs in England about spending over the odds on a player from that league and expecting the transition to be seemless.

It's not so much that I can't see us spending that much on one player. I think we'll be in for very few players this summer, assuming we keep our big names, and chances are the players we bring in will be very expensive. It's just that at 21 years old and in a position where we've already got several promising young players, some of whom have made their debuts this season... it doesn't really make sense to pay anywhere near that amount for a player that's likely going to need a lot of time to adapt to the league. Harvey Elliott, for instance, is only 20 years old - so he's younger. He plays in the same sort of position and role. And he's already got a shitload of appearances for us and is developing nicely this season. Does it make sense to spend a lot of money, slow his development (and the development of other younger players like Carvalho, Koumas, etc) when we've got other areas of the squad to address? 

[Stan]

£128m  

 

Football is so far gone if that happens.

[Cicero]

Mudryk at best has been a moments player. All the talent in the world but not the brain. Has 2 speeds, 100mph and standing still. 

As shit as Poch has been his work with Mudryk has been good. Slowly nurturing him into a more mature player. 

[Michael]

On 02/04/2024 at 20:35, Dr. Gonzo said:

I feel like if anything Mudryk would scare off other premier league sides from paying a steep asking price for a promising young Ukrainian. Mudryk has potential sure, but at 23... I'd say he looks some way off a lot of other younger players who have potential and do offer more consistency and quality. Look at Palmer at Chelsea, for example. Less than half the price of Mudyrk... and he's 1.) looking like he's got more potential than Mudryk, 2.) is performing at a much higher level than Mudryk.

Not to say that Mudryk is a particularly bad player or anything - I just think he made a big step up and the prices Arsenal and Chelsea thought were reasonable now look like a massive overinflation in value; I think he's a player that sort of tells a cautionary tale to other clubs in England about spending over the odds on a player from that league and expecting the transition to be seemless.

It's not so much that I can't see us spending that much on one player. I think we'll be in for very few players this summer, assuming we keep our big names, and chances are the players we bring in will be very expensive. It's just that at 21 years old and in a position where we've already got several promising young players, some of whom have made their debuts this season... it doesn't really make sense to pay anywhere near that amount for a player that's likely going to need a lot of time to adapt to the league. Harvey Elliott, for instance, is only 20 years old - so he's younger. He plays in the same sort of position and role. And he's already got a shitload of appearances for us and is developing nicely this season. Does it make sense to spend a lot of money, slow his development (and the development of other younger players like Carvalho, Koumas, etc) when we've got other areas of the squad to address? 

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. 

On 03/04/2024 at 14:03, Cicero said:

Mudryk at best has been a moments player. All the talent in the world but not the brain. Has 2 speeds, 100mph and standing still. 

As shit as Poch has been his work with Mudryk has been good. Slowly nurturing him into a more mature player. 

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.

Edited April 5 by Michael

[OrangeKhrush]

What the .... 128m absolute lunacy