CHELSEA are lining up a £65million bid for Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Georgiy Sudakov, according to reports.

Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool have all been keeping tabs on the Ukrainian this season.

He has scored eight goals for club and country in the 2023/24 campaign, one of which came in a 3-0 win on Sunday.

Now The Mail understand Chelsea have held discussions with the player's representatives as they prepare to make a suitable offer for the man who has a £125million release clause.

Shakhtar chief executive Sergei Palkin was also at Chelsea's win over Everton last month and confirmed after the game that Sudakov will leave in the summer.

He said: "This summer window, he has a big chance to move to some big clubs.

"We have had some contacts with big clubs and some are not negotiating with us directly but are getting a feel for the summer environment.

"He will definitely move to a top European club this summer.

"When I was at Chelsea versus Everton, many people asked me about Sudakov."

Sudakov, who is under contract until 2028, played alongside Mykhailo Mudryk at Shakhtar before he left for Stamford Bridge.

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The pair are good friend, with Sudakov joking in the past that Mudryk is missing him in London.

They are still team-mates for the Ukraine national team - where Sudakov has 14 caps.

Mudryk has struggled since moving to England, scoring just six goals and assisting four in 56 appearances.

But Mauricio Pochettino's side are starting to show signs of improvement with a run of just one loss in their last 12 Premier League games.

On Sunday, they thrashed West Ham 5-0 to move seventh in the table with three games remaining.