Liverpool have reportedly been scouting a European playmaker who, to say the least, took his opportunity to shine in front of watching Premier League clubs.
Earlier this year, the Reds were credited with interest in Ukraine international Georgiy Sudakov, who represented his country at Euro 2024 during the summer, and it appears that the 22-year-old is still on the radar at Anfield.
Liverpool scouts watched Sudakov shine for Shakhtar
According to CaughtOffside, Liverpool are among five clubs from the Premier League to have been scouting the Shakhtar Donetsk playmaker, with the Reds and Arsenal understood to have watched him in recent matches against Veres Rivne and LNZ Cherkasy.
They’ll have been astounded by his performance in the latter fixture as he scored four times in a 5-1 victory for his side, with three of those coming in a devastating seven-minute spell shortly after the interval (Sofascore), and it’s duly no great surprise that the Ukrainian giants are set to demand at least €65m (£54.4m) to part with him.
(Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)
Will it be enough to prompt a bid from Liverpool?
If Liverpool don’t follow up on Sudakov after watching a performance like that, then they never will.
The question that the Anfield hierarchy might be asking, though, is whether it was nothing more than a freakishly exceptional day for the 22-year-old, who’d previously scored just three times in nine games to start the season and has 27 in 111 appearances for Shakhtar (Transfermarkt).
Dismantling mid-table Ukrainian opposition is one thing; doing it at the highest level in Europe is another – the 24-cap international has netted just once in 17 Champions League appearances (Transfermarkt).
Liverpool might also be wary of another ex-Shakhtar dynamo who moved to the Premier League and has since struggled – Chelsea’s £88.5m deal for Mykhailo Mudryk has rewarded them with a mere seven goals in 66 matches so far.
Nonetheless, it must’ve been impossible for Reds scouts not to have been enthralled by what they saw of Sudakov recently, and he seems to have been of interest at Anfield for several months already, so perhaps the recent scouting mission might yet lead to something more tangible in terms of a transfer approach.