Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea 'handed boost in Georgiy Sudakov pursuit'

Premier League quartet Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea are among a number of clubs that have received a boost in their pursuit of Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Georgiy Sudakov, according to a report.

The 21-year-old is an academy product of Shakhtar and has developed into a key player for the Ukrainian giants since making his professional debut in October 2020.

Sudakov enjoyed a productive 2022-23 campaign as he contributed with five goals and eight assists in 29 Ukrainian Premier League matches to help Shakhtar win the title, while he also registered two assists in Champions League games against RB Leipzig and Celtic.

This season, the attacking midfielder has chipped in with seven goals and three assists in 27 games for Shakhtar, while he also scored his first international goal for Ukraine in a Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia at the end of last year.

Sudakov is regarded as one of Ukraine's brightest prospects and his impressive performances for club and country are said to have alerted a number of top European clubs, including teams in the Premier League.

Each of Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea are said to be keeping tabs on Sudakov's development, with a recent report claiming that the latter are leading the race for the youngster's signature.

Manchester United, Newcastle United, West Ham United and Aston Villa have also been credited with an interest, as have Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid, but Barcelona are understood to have pulled out of the race.

According to HITC, a release clause in excess of £100m was inserted in Sudakov's contract — signed in February — that runs until December 2028.

However,