Liverpool moved clear at the top of the Premier League over the Easter weekend following a 2-1 win over Brighton at Anfield and a glorious statement between Manchester City and Arsenal.
Jurgen Klopp’s farewell tour is well and truly underway with the new manager search advancing after Xabi Alonso ruled himself out of the running with a stay at Bayer Leverkusen for next season at least.
Despite the managerial situation and the on-pitch matters, transfer rumours continue and the Reds are never far from the news cycle on that front…
As such, Dan spoke to journalist Artur Petrosyan about the interest in Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Georgiy Sudakov after he reported that Liverpool are showing a ‘keen interest’ in the 21-year-old.
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On the interest, Artur said: “He is one of the brightest talents in Ukraine and probably in Eastern Europe as well. Liverpool have been scouting him for more than a year now, it started at the last U21 Euros. His performance was really good in that tournament, with two goals but his performance overall was really mature.
“At the moment only two clubs have been in contact, they’re both Italian and nothing came out of it. He signed a new contract not too long ago. Obviously, they will sell if a really good offer comes.”
On the style of play: “He’s a box-to-box midfielder. One of the managers who allowed him to get to youth football from first-team football was De Zerbi who could be the next Liverpool manager. He knows Sudakov really well. The majority of the time he used him as a number 10 but he was far more than that, a hardworking player.
“If we compare him to someone at Liverpool the closest would be (Alexis) Mac Allister, good vision, good with both feet, he makes key passes. He also reminds me a bit of Xabi Alonso, he knows how to switch attacks. He’s so young but he’s a wise player with a footballing brain.”
On the possibility of a deal: “It’s never been easy to deal with Ukrainian clubs. It won’t be easy but (Mykhailo) Mudryk was sold for £80million not long ago. If Shakhtar does decide to sell this summer it will be a price not smaller than that, £80-100million, he’s really talented, I rate him more than Mudryk.”
On whether he is ready: “He would need time to adapt to the speed of the Premier League. But I don’t have many doubts that he will compete for a top club. He has a good mentality which is rare, he’s a smart guy, and he knows what he needs to do to step up to the next level. He’s got quality, he’s got talent. He has a chance.”
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