West Ham United are interested in the signing of Shakhtar Donetsk attacking midfielder Georgiy Sudakov, according to a report from TBR Football.
The Hammers are reportedly among plenty of suitors for the Ukranian with Liverpool and Manchester City also keeping a keen eye on his developments. At just 22 years old, Sudakov has much more experience than his age suggests.
He has played 122 times for Shakhtar, scoring 29 goals and providing 22 assists. Sudakov is also a crucial part of his National team. He has played 26 ties for Ukraine since making his debut in 2021, scoring three goals.
Sudakov has been linked with moves to the top five leagues previously, but it’s his form in the early stages of this season that has led to all the talk about him currently. In 15 League appearances, he has scored 8 goals and provided two assists. He also has a goal and an assist in 5 Champions League matches.
The number 10 is an attacking powerhouse. His statistics thrive in almost every attacking metric; his non-penalty expected goals are impressive, he also thrives at progressing the ball with passing and dribbling. His only drawback is his pass completion rate which stands at 79.3% over the past 365 days, which is far from one of the best in Europe.
However, it shows he is ambitious with his passes and it is also higher than the Hammers’ current attacking midfield options in Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta. He is also a lot more of an all-out attacking midfielder, while those two often play in deeper roles.
West Ham United have lacked creativity at times this season, making the signing of a player as creative as Sudakov somewhat of a priority in a future transfer window. Especially with the threat of Lucas Paqueta’s ban and Kudus’ potential departure due to his £85m release clause that’s valid from next summer.
The reported price tag of €50m will most likely put West Ham off of signing Sudakov this winter, however, he could be an option in the Summer whether it’s Julen Lopetegui in charge or there is a new manager at the helm.
