Caught Offside are tonight once again linking Chelsea with interest in Shakhtar Donetsk creator Georgiy Sudakov, who they say could cost up to £65m.
The Ukraine international looks to have outgrown his domestic league to some degree, and a move to a top team in Europe looks almost guaranteed in the next few months.
Shakhtar CEO Sergei Palkin has already started fattening up the calf for slaughter, and even attended a Premier League match featuring the Blues to get tongues wagging:
“He will definitely move to a top European club this summer. When I was at Chelsea versus Everton, many people asked me about Sudakov,” Palkin said.
“This summer window, he has a big chance to move to some big clubs. We have had some contacts with big clubs and some are not negotiating with us directly but are getting a feel for the summer environment.”
Chelsea are operating under a limited budget this summer however, and given their needs in almost every other area of the pitch, it’s hard to see them putting a load of those funds on yet another creative attacking player.
Once bitten, twice shy?
It remains to be seen whether buying Mykhailo Mudryk is going to put Chelsea off from further similar business. It’s certainly burned a massive hole in our budget for similar transactions in the near future. Sudakov looks a much more developed, less raw prospect than his old teammate, but would still likely face plenty of difficulty in fitting in to life in the Premier League.
If we had to bet, we’d reckon Chelsea are going to sit this one out and let someone else take the risk. Might we regret it? Sure. But until we’ve found a solution for Mudryk, it seems unlikely we go back for a second bite.
