Mykhaylo Mudryk is allegedly keen for Chelsea to take an interest in Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Georgiy Sudakov.
At the start of 2023, the Blues committed to paying in the region of £87m to secure a deal for Mudryk, edging out Arsenal in the process.
However, the winger has struggled to live up to his price tag, contributing just two goals and two assists from his 29 appearances in all competitions.
The 22-year-old has marginally improved during 2023-24, but seven of his 11 outings in the Premier League have come from the substitutes' bench.
Despite not receiving regular game time, there is little prospect of Mudryk departing Stamford Bridge in the short term having penned a contract until 2031.
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Nevertheless, it appears that Mudryk would prefer to have another Ukrainian player in West London, one who he played with during the Under-21 European Championship in the summer.
As per Gazzetta dello Sport, Mudryk said during that period that he would be in favour of Sudakov following him to Chelsea.
The report claims that each of Chelsea and Arsenal are ready to rival Juventus in the race to sign the 21-year-old in January or the summer.
Like Mudryk was viewed before his transfer, Sudakov is a key man at Shakhtar, already racking up 13 goals and 13 assists from 83 appearances in all competitions.
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Sudakov is capable of playing all across the midfield, including wide areas, and he played in a creative role as Shakhtar defeated Barcelona in the Champions League earlier this month.
Shakhtar remain in a strong position to retain his signature with Sudakov possessing a contract until 2028, yet there will be scope for a deal being agreed in one of the future transfer windows.
Furthermore, the report acknowledges that Sudakov made an impression on Italian clubs with his performances for Ukraine against Italy in their two Euro 2024 qualifiers this year.
Juventus may only be in a position to step up their interest if they make player sales at the turn of the year courtesy of their ongoing financial issues.
Darren Plant
