Chelsea are leading several Premier League rivals in the race to sign Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Georgiy Sudakov.
Sudakov is a transfer target for top teams across Europe after an exciting emergence with the Ukrainian side, with Shakhtar set to demand a huge fee for the 21-year-old.
Shakhtar have already fielded multiple enquiries from Europe’s elite clubs and are hoping to receive a fee of €100m (£85m) for Sudakov in the summer window. That fee would eclipse the initial €70m (£62m) fee that took Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea in a record sale in January 2023.
Chelsea are understood to be leading the chase to unite Sudakov with his former Shakhtar teammate in west London, according to TeamTalk, with the Blues ahead of Arsenal in the running. Manchester United and Manchester City have also been linked with Sudakov, though have not been as proactive in pursuing a deal.
There is also interest from Serie A from Juventus and Napoli and the latter have had a €40m (£34m) bid rejected.
“I know nothing about offers from them,” Sudakov said on reported interest from Barcelona and Manchester City.
“However, [Shakhtar director] Sergei Anatolyevich Palkin informed me about offers from Juventus and Napoli. Shakhtar rejected Napoli’s €40m bid.”
Shakhtar will hope interest from England firms up with concrete offers, with Premier League clubs possessing the financial muscle to meet their demands.
Alongside the sale of Mudryk, Shakhtar’s top five record sales also include another two exits to Premier League sides, after the big-money departures of Fred to Manchester United and Fernandinho to Manchester City.
