The £60m Euro 2024 star transfer comments that will excite Arsenal, Spurs, and Chelsea

To watch him on Monday, you might have been forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about. Georgiy Sudakov, the next anticipated grand export of Ukrainian football, was decidedly anonymous as his nation slumped to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Romania. Then again, so were many of his compatriots. Hence the slumping.

Hooked in the 83rd minute, the Shakhtar Donetsk playmaker looked a shadow of the talent who has reportedly piqued the interest of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and Chelsea in recent weeks, trundling aimlessly around in the final third like a lost soul. But don’t let one bad showing fool you.

In actuality, Sudakov is capable of being an immense creative presence, and one who has a staggeringly high ceiling of potential. Indeed, BBC Sport commentator Steve Wilson describes him as ‘a dynamic and inventive attacking midfielder who is considered to be comfortably the best Ukrainian player still playing in war-torn Ukraine’.

It would appear that Sudakov holds himself in a similarly high regard. Speaking to The Telegraph ahead of that defeat to Romania on Monday, the 21-year-old discussed his future with an unusual amount of candour.

“I see myself in the top five European leagues, but I cannot name a specific club,” he admitted. “I understand that it is an incredible opportunity to prove myself, I am preparing mentally and physically. I hope I can show everything I am capable of. Of course, I understand that my future depends on this tournament. But for that, I need to be at a high level in the Euros. Therefore, I’m going to focus on the tournament first and then see what happens after that.”

And those comments should certainly intrigue the likes of Arsenal, Spurs, and Chelsea. By the sounds of it, Sudakov has made his mind up, and is actively angling to put himself in the shop window this summer ahead of a prospective transfer. That should be cause for encouragement back in London, where so many of his named suitors reside.

Of course, a deal for Sudakov will not come cheap, and it is worth emphasising that, at the time of writing, his asking price is understood to be somewhere in the region of £60 million. But that figure is presumably not set in stone, and half the battle of any agreement is convincing the player himself that he would be better off seeking an exit for the sake of his future.

Sudakov looks as if he will not pose that issue in the slightest, and to that end, his Premier League admirers should be pleased. That being said, a shaky tournament in Germany may also go some way towards dissuading the chasing pack, or, at the very least, making them think twice about pulling the trigger on such an exorbitant deal.

The best case scenario for everybody, therefore, is for Sudakov to line up against Slovakia on Friday evening and prove to those watching on intently that he is worth the time, effort, and money. That way, he gets the move he so desperately wants, and Ukraine maybe, just maybe, make it out of their group.