Potter masterclass! €150m Arsenal target in talks with West Ham

West Ham have opened talks with Shakhtar Donetsk over Georgiy Sudakov, according to a report.

The Ukraine star is surprisingly still with his boyhood club despite never shying away from voicing his intention to sign for a side in a top-five league. Sudakov has been linked with Europe’s elite for the best part of two years, including Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.

The 22-year-old has established himself as one of the continent’s most exciting attacking midfielders since breaking into the Shakhtar first team in 2020. He was duly fitted with a €150 million release clause last winter to ensure that his club will rake in yet more money after their infamous €100m sale of Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea in January 2023.

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Napoli and Porto previously tried to move for Sudakov but ultimately baulked at Shakhtar’s demands, although the Ukrainian giants have made it clear that they don’t expect clubs to trigger his prohibitive clause.

Indeed, after keeping hold of Sudakov for longer than they likely anticipated, Shakhtar are aware that this is probably his last season with the club.

Sudakov to…West Ham?

According to Ben Jacobs, Sudakov is ‘likely’ to leave Ukraine in the summer. After links to Arsenal and some of England’s biggest clubs, he could actually be on his way to East London.

The journalist reports that West Ham have made contact with the midfielder to explore a summer transfer and it seems that the signals they received were positive. Jacobs states that Shakhtar would be prepared to do business for a fee in the region of €65m.

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However, Sudakov still has suitors elsewhere in the Premier League and Serie A. Napoli, for example, remain keen after their failed attempts to sign him last year.

Sudakov has notched 10 goals and three assists in 25 games across all competitions, so it is no surprise that he continues to be courted by major clubs from around Europe.