The economics of a feeder club in football are simple: invest money in the scouting network to find young talent, invest more money to develop them before selling them for a huge fee to a top club, and invest the money again in the scouting network. Shakhtar Donetsk is one such feeder club, and their newest gem is midfielder Georgiy Sudakov. Since selling Mykhailo Mudryk, Shakhtar have relied on the 21-year-old in the attack.
While Mudryk has failed to justify his price tag in the Premier League for Chelsea, it has not deterred clubs from expressing an interest in signing talents from the Ukrainian league. And Sudakov is undoubtedly the brightest talent in the entire league.
So, who is Georgiy Sudakov, and how good is he?
Georgiy Sudakov profile
Born in Brianka, a city in the Donbas region, Sudakov started his footballing career at the age of 11 when he joined the local club Sokil Brianka. However, within one year, he came on the radar of one of the biggest clubs in the nation, Metalist Kharkiv. The youngster grabbed the opportunity with both hands and, within three years, became one of their best talents in the youth ranks.
And the natural order of progression was to join Shakhtar Donetsk, the club having one of the best track records in developing young talents. So, in 2017, Sudakov joined the club, one year after Mudryk did the same.
In the 2018 season, he got his first taste of continental football when he played all six games in the group stage of the UEFA Youth League, providing one assist, which earned them a draw against Manchester City. He would make five more appearances in the competition the following season, where he also scored his first goal.
Three years of hard work and brilliance were finally rewarded in the 2020-21 season as he was inducted into the senior team by then-manager Luís Castro. He was named to the team for the first time on October 4, 2020, against Desna.
However, his senior team debut came in one of the biggest games of the club’s history: their defeat of Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu. Three days later, he also made his league debut against Vorskla Poltava. In his second game, he scored his first senior-team goal. Sudakov ended the season with 14 appearances.
The next season, he again made 14 appearances but ended with four goals and one assist. In the summer of 202,2, though, the club appointed Igor Jovicevic as the new manager. He built his team around Mudryk and Sudakov in order to ensure that he harnessed both of their strengths in the attack.
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Georgiy Sudakov stats
By the time the 2022-23 season started, Sudakov had established himself in Shakhtar’s senior squad. He needed to have an amazing season to take his talent to the next level. Sudakov didn’t disappoint; the youngster played 29 games, scoring five goals and providing eight assists (the second-most in the league). Almost all of his goals came after Mudryk’s departure, which shows how he took up additional responsibility as soon as the club’s top goal scorer and assist provider left.
His shooting stats from Fbref are something to behold. His 0.5 shots on target per 90 minutes rank him among the top eight percentile of midfielders. His xG per 90 minutes is also 0.25, putting him in the top three percentile. One of the interesting things is his pinpoint long accuracy. It is why he averages 1.13 switches per 90 minutes better than 97 per cent of the modifiers. His 3.1 long balls per game back this stat with an astounding accuracy of 71 per cent.
A player in a role like Sudakov on a team like Shakhtar is not expected to be heavily involved in defending. However, the youngster does have great ball recovery skills, executing 5.1 of them in each game he plays.
The most similar under-26 player to Xavi in 2022/23?
Pedri of Barcelona. Georgiy Sudakov of Shakhtar Donetsk was another close match#SimilarPlayers pic.twitter.com/6n06IW6OCs
— StatsBomb (@StatsBomb) July 12, 2023
Georgiy Sudakov style of play
Georgiy Sudakov plays a role akin to Kevin de Bruyn, wherein he loves to play as a midfielder whose main job is to create chances for the team. This is one of the reasons why Shakhtar has mostly played with either a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation. In the former, he takes up the number ten role, and in the latter, he again has the luxury of two midfielders who cover most of his defensive responsibilities.
With the ball at his feet, Sudakov is deadly and equally adept at switches and crossing the ball into the box. In fact, this makes him a menace for the opposition, as his quality forces the rivals’ team to surround him with numbers, which always leaves space, mostly on the other flank, which Sudakov exploits with his accurate passing.
While he is also a good shooter, the burden of creativity on his shoulders is so heavy that most of the time, he discourages himself from taking a swing at the ball. His best skill remains his composure on the ball, making him highly press-resistant. His only weak area is his off-the-ball, where he can sometimes affect the team’s shape. This may not be a big problem at a club like Shakhtar, where he is the golden boy; however, this could be easily exploited in a top league.
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Georgiy Sudakov potential
Sudakov proved to be a strong player both physically and mentally. A big club undoubtedly will come to sign him soon. However, the biggest question remains whether Sudakov’s talent can survive at the top level, especially after Mudryk’s stint at Chelsea so far.
While his displays so far prove that he can play in a top league, whether he can be an integral part of a team of the calibre of Liverpool, Bayern Munich, or Manchester City remains to be seen. On the national front, he is destined to have a long career with Ukraine, but considering his talent, he would surely want to achieve much more at the club level.