Chelsea are stepping up their interest in Shakhtar Donetsk midfield talent Georgiy Sudakov.

The £65million-rated Ukraine international has scored eight goals for club and country this season including one in Shakhtar’s 3-0 win over Odessa on Sunday.

Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool have all checked on his progress this season while there is also interest from Italy.

Chelsea are understood to have held discussions with his representatives in recent weeks to ascertain the figures involved while Shakhtar chief executive Sergei Palkin was a guest recently at Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea beat Everton 6-0.

Afterwards, Palkin confirmed to media: ‘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 is close friends with Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk and has joked that his former teammate is missing him in London.

Mudryk has struggled to adjust to life in the capital since his own £62m transfer from Shakhtar last summer and remains in regular contact with Sudakov often advising him to make the switch to England.

A playmaker, Sudakov signed a new contract until 2028 which has a release clause of around £125million active from June but Shakhtar are expected to consider sensible offers for the 21-year-old.

Chelsea are looking to improve their squad again this summer and have been evaluating targets in South America.

Some, such as 17-year-old Estevao Willian at Palmeiras are younger, emerging talents but Sudakov is regarded as first team ready having made 87 appearances for Shakhtar and gained experience in the Champions League and Europa.

There will be competition for his signature but, should Chelsea proceed, they have a good relationship with Shakhtar and Sudakov’s representatives.