The £65m wonderkid Chelsea transfer target who can take Blues to the next level

One of the more sought-after young players this summer is Georgiy Sudakov, a 21-year-old playmaker who has impressed for both Shakhtar Donetsk and the Ukraine national team – and according to a new report from The Daily Mail, Chelsea could be on the cusp of making him their latest big-money signing.

The Mail claim that Sudakov (whose forename is also spelled Heorhiy or Heorhii, depending on how you transliterate it) has drawn the attention of numerous teams in England and Italy, including Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool, but it’s Chelsea who they believe are at the front of the queue having opened up talks – and Shakhtar’s chief executive, Sergei Palkin, has apparently confirmed that Chelsea have asked about him and that he will likely move in the coming transfer window.

The question, then, is what Sudakov would bring to Stamford Bridge and whether he would be a smart signing who can make an instant impact in the first team, or another flashy young purchase who fails to live up to his price tag. Chelsea, let’s face it, have some pretty questionable form in this area.

Sudakov is a midfield playmaker who typically plays centrally but who can also operate on the left flank, and who tends to look to operate down the left-hand channels at Shakhtar. Blessed with good feet, an impressive passing range and the vision to match, he generates plenty of chances for his team-mates and is an expert at exploiting space.

Although he doesn’t have express pace or the kind of close control that the best dribblers possess, he does have the knack of spotting space and manoeuvring his way into it quickly – he’s adept at using his body and his first touch to send opposing players the wrong way and getting into room from which to spray his passes around.

And those passes are very impressive. He looks to play a lot of killer balls and is just as happy going direct as he is setting up quick short-range interchanges around the edge of the area. Whether he’s operating in deeper areas or getting forward to support the attack, he offers control of possession and a healthy amount of dynamism.

He’s also a fine finisher, who has scored five goals in each of the last two seasons in the Ukrainian Premier League and scored the opening goal in a Euro 2024 qualifying match against North Macedonia. He doesn’t get into the box especially often for Shakhtar, but shows so much promise with his shooting that his next team might be tempted to ask him to push up more often – he’s remarkably composed in the box and can both place shots with precision and blast them into the back of the net.

It helps Sudakov’s game that he’s more or less two-footed – he prefers his right but can play perfectly well on his left, and that makes it hard for defenders and goalkeepers to know which way he’s going to go with his passes and shots. You can’t shepherd him onto his weaker foot, as he’ll be just as happy playing the ball with his left as his right.

There are weaker areas to his game, of course. He isn’t especially effective in the press and only averages one successful tackle every two games he plays. He’s also relatively small (he’s either 5’9” or 5’10” depending on who you ask) and doesn’t have a huge amount of strength to push defenders out of the way in close-quarters situations. He needs space to work with, and while he’s very good at finding it, it’s hard not to note that he is offered quite a lot of it at the level he plays now. Watching replays and highlight reels, you seldom see a player whose ability to play when he’s getting ganged up on tested.

But the talent is undeniably there – the question is whether he’s worth the money. The Mail believe he would cost around £65m, which isn’t cheap even by Chelsea’s free-spending standards. Given where the club are now, it would be tough to justify spending that on a player who may need a year or two to get up to speed in a more demanding league which will make life harder on him. His former team-mate, Mykhaylo Mudryk, is rather a case in point. There’s a big gap between the top tier of Ukrainian football right now and the Premier League, and there may be an adaptation period.

If Chelsea do sign him, you’d assume it would be to play as a number ten, in behind a central striker. They do need another body there, especially as it would free Cole Palmer up to play more games in the front three, where he has perhaps flourished the most – but it’s reasonable to wonder whether he would settle right in or would need some time and the right coaching to be able to reach his ceiling.

Ultimately, Sudakov is a big talent who can score and play some superb passes, and he could offer a lot to a team’s attack in the coming years. The only debate is whether he’s ready right now, and whether Chelsea, a team in transition and with a great deal to work out before they’re ready to challenge for the top four again, are the best possible next step for him. But if The Mail have their facts straight, we may find out very soon indeed.