West Ham scouts “watched” Shakhtar Donetsk attacking midfielder Georgiy Sudakov play for Ukraine in the 0-0 draw against Italy on Monday evening, according to 90min.com.
The website claims that the Hammers had observers in the stands to see the 21-year-old play the full 90 minutes in the BayArena as Ukraine failed to seal automatic qualification for Euro 2024.
It is believed that Arsenal, Manchester City and Newcastle also sent representatives to keep tabs on Sudakov, as interest in the playmaker increases.
90min.com say that teams in Germany, Italy and Spain will likely join West Ham and their Premier League rivals in pursuing the player’s signature in the New Year.
West Ham may be considering potential replacements for Paqueta
The fact that David Moyes‘ side are weighing up a move for Sudakov would suggest that the club are putting contingency plans in place just in case Lucas Paqueta were to leave the London Stadium.
Although Manchester City did eventually cool their interest in the Brazilian international last summer, you can’t rule out the Premier League champions or another club making a more concerted effort to sign him in the future.
Sudakov has already hinted that he would be interested in a move to the Premier League
The Shakhtar Donetsk player is a close personal friend of Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk and, in an interview with The Telegraph earlier this month, he revealed that he did enquire about what it’s like playing in English football:
“I already received some precious advice from him, in case I move to England. How to adapt, how it’s not easy to get into the pace of the game, so for me it’s very useful advice.”
“He recommends moving to a top championship like the Premier League as quickly as possible because to develop your game it helps to adapt more quickly, physically and psychologically.”
