The 21-year-old has attracted interest from some of the biggest clubs in Europe, with Chelsea and Arsenal both previously reported to be keeping tabs on his progress. Gunners star Oleksandr Zinchenko previously urged his side to sign Sudakov.

But the attacking midfielder could end up on the other side of North London in a mega-money deal. Spurs are reported to have begun talks with his agent, Vadym Shablii, over a summer move.

According to the Mirror, Shablii was at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday to discuss his client’s future. There is expected to be interest from other European clubs, too, with Juventus strongly linked. Napoli saw a £34million deal rejected outright in January.

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Sudakov has an eye-watering £128m release clause inserted into a new long-term contract he signed recently. Spurs may have further problems negotiating with Shakhtar as the two clubs remain at odds over Manor Solomon’s free transfer move last summer.

The North Londoners took advantage of a FIFA ruling that allowed foreign players in Russia and Ukraine to suspend their contracts. Shakhtar reportedly threatened Spurs with legal action over the transfer of Solomon.

They valued the Israeli winger at £20m and will likely demand a huge fee for Sudakov, even if they do not receive his full release clause. In 2023, Shakhtar chiefs negotiated an £89m deal for Mykaylo Mudryk to join Chelsea.

Meanwhile, Spurs can inflict serious damage on Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes on Sunday. The Gunners currently lead the top-flight by a point but Manchester City have a game in hand. Liverpool are all but out of the race after dropping points again in their 2-2 draw with West Ham on Saturday.

Postecoglou says he understands why Spurs fans have extra motivation to defeat rivals Arsenal. The Australian said: “Yeah, it’s fair enough. And again I’m not going to dictate to fans what they feel and how they should feel.

“We understand the importance of the game and we understand the importance particularly at home in these kind of games against our biggest rival and in the biggest derby for us not letting our opponent get on top of us.

“So we understand the consequences of that but ultimately it’s still about us measuring ourselves against the teams we want to be challenging on a more consistent basis. And it’s a great opportunity to do that on Sunday.”