Liverpool are now understood to be ‘showing keen interest’ in Ukrainian prospect Georgiy Sudakov.

Artur Petrosyan shared the update on his personal X (formerly Twitter) account this evening amid interest from Arsenal, Juventus and Napoli.

In January, Shakhtar CEO Sergey Palkin disclosed that they had turned down a €40m offer from Napoli for his signature. He also expressed confidence that Sudakov will soon be playing for one of Europe's top clubs.

— Artur Petrosyan (@arturpetrosyan) March 27, 2024

The Merseysiders are not currently though to be interested in priortising further midfield signings at this time. Though, this could soon change once a new manager is secured ahead of the summer window.

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What to expect from Sudakov?

£34.2m for a highly talented 21-year-old isn’t exactly unreasonable, though a move for a player in the Ukrainian top-flight would mark a shift in general focus from our recruitment team.

What perhaps marks out the midfielder as a potentially interesting option is supposed statistical similarities to Aston Villa’s John McGinn, according to FBref.

The Scot was of interest to us a short while back, though a change in management at the end of the season could very much yield different priorities.

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Liverpool had a tough opening first 45 minutes at the Vitality Stadium and it was fair to say that Jurgen Klopp wouldn’t have been too happy with the performance of several players from within his team, especially two midfielders – it would seem.

As reported by journalist Artur Petrosyan: ‘Duels in the first half: Elliott – ground duels – 4 lost, 0 won, aerial duels – 1 lost, 0 won

‘Bajcetic – ground duels – 3 lost, 0 won, aerial duels – 1 lost, 0 won’

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Diogo Jota was brought onto the pitch for the start of the second-half in the place of Harvey Elliott which may well show that our manager was fully aware of the poor performance level of our No.19.

It was also revealed before the match that Jordan Henderson was left out of the game against Bournemouth because of an illness he was struggling with this week and so the 18-year-old may well have only found out late that he was set to play.

There have been more than enough comments made about the quality of our midfield and the perceived need for more signing in the coming summer transfer window, with the first-half performance level of two younger players in that position being below the expected standard.

We’ve seen both youngsters shine in recent weeks though and there’s no reason why they won’t be able to bounce back from this positively.

You can view the Elliott and Bajcetic numbers via @arturpetrosyan on Twitter:

Duels in the first half:

Elliott
ground duels – 4 lost, 0 won
aerial duels – 1 lost, 0 won

Bajcetic
ground duels – 3 lost, 0 won
aerial duels – 1 lost, 0 won

— Artur Petrosyan (@arturpetrosyan) March 11, 2023

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Liverpool scouts are reportedly set to attend Shakhtar Donetsk’s upcoming Champions League group game clash with Real Madrid, with Mykhaylo Mudryk ‘likely the reason’ why.

This comes courtesy of a tweet from Guardian journalist Artur Petrosyan following links between the Reds and the Ukraine international.

Liverpool scouts will be present at Shakhtar v R Madrid. Mudryk is likely the reason.
Shakhtar declined summer offers (€30m max) for the winger (Everton, Brentford).
"After Mbappe and Vinicius, he is the best in Europe in his position," said Dario Srna, club's drctr of football.

— Artur Petrosyan (@arturpetrosyan) September 20, 2022

The Merseysiders will have to improve on prior failed bids for the 21-year-old from fellow Premier League outfits Everton and Brentford, as Fabrizio Romano reports that an offer potentially in excess of £43.8m will be required to prise the forward away.

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We maintain that it feels unlikely that Liverpool would prioritise a new attacker over bolstering the midfield department, the latter of which has been struggling to cope with an array of injuries.

The return of Thiago Alcantara has masked much of the concerns around our operations in the middle of the park, though its clear that reinforcements will be required sooner rather than later – and if later, no more so than the summer window.

Still the prospect of moving for a talent potentially comparable to the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr will be a tantalising one, if Dario Srna’s estimation is accurate.

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A number of Liverpool fans online were left somewhat disappointed by the club’s transfer window, despite making four senior additions to the squad, in light of a failed attempt to secure another permanent body in the middle of the park.

Interestingly, however, it seems that a bid for Aurelien Tchouameni this summer was followed by genuine offers for Jude Bellingham (not simply just an enquiry, as was initially understood) and Federico Valverde of Real Madrid – all totalling at £240m worth of bids, according to Guardian journalist Artur Petrosyan on Twitter.

Apparently, Liverpool made three significant bids for midfielders this summer: Tchouameni (£68m), Bellingham (£86m) and Valverde (£86m) in chronological order.

And all of them failed.

— Artur Petrosyan (@arturpetrosyan) September 13, 2022

As it turned out, all attempts failed to produce the desired result with the Frenchman opting for a switch to Real Madrid despite Jurgen Klopp’s best efforts to convince the ex-Monaco star otherwise.

It shows a clear sign of intent from our recruitment team to bring in a quality midfield option with all three footballers aged 24 or under.

Given how close we came to a historic quadruple haul of silverware last term, it seems somewhat remarkable that we failed to bring at least one of the three to Anfield.

That being said, it’s worth pointing out beyond Tchouameni that we were unfortunate to be moving for Bellingham in the same summer key man Erling Haaland swapped Germany for England.

A long-term contract tying Valverde up in the Spanish capital until 2027 likewise will have complicated matters somewhat for Liverpool in the window just gone.

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Jurgen Klopp’s men are set to first take on Italian outfit Napoli at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on 7th September, as has been reported in a tweet from Artur Petrosyan.

The trip comes three days before Liverpool’s hosting of Wolves back in the Premier League and just after the Merseyside derby on 3rd September.

Liverpool's @ChampionsLeague fixtures list:

7 Sep – Napoli (a)
13 Sep – Ajax (h)
4 Oct – Rangers (h)
12 Oct – Rangers (a)
26 Oct – Ajax (a)
1 Nov – Napoli (h)

— Artur Petrosyan (@arturpetrosyan) August 27, 2022

It represents perhaps a tougher start than the Reds will have hoped for in the group stage of the competition, though supporters can hardly feel too anxious at this stage after having been handed a more than achievable challenge.

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With a win, a draw and two losses (both of which took place in Italy) to our name since the 2018/19 campaign, we’ll no doubt be looking to kick off our European campaign with a big statement in Naples.

We’ll need a huge upturn in performance by that point, of course, which is a big ask in the space of two games, though not entirely impossible given the number of returned stars we’re set to welcome back to the squad in early September.

Add on top a potential midfield signing, which Klopp has suggested the club is keen to secure this summer, and we could be in an enviable position come the trip to mainland Europe.

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There was a time when Barcelona was clearly there or thereabouts at the top of the food chain of domestic and European football, though their fortunes have taken something of a nosedive in recent years.

The proposed revival, led by former midfielder, Xavi, has yet to reap major rewards, with one winter window signing, Adama Traore, comparing poorly, as noted in a tweet from Artur Petrosyan, to Liverpool’s latest addition to the forward line, Luis Diaz.

How Liverpool and Barcelona strengthen their attack these days:

Barcelona get Adama Traore who has scored 1 goal since May and made 1 assist since April 2021. Has feautured in 40+ games since.

Liverpool get Luis Diaz who has 17 goals and 5 assists this season.

— Artur Petrosyan (@arturpetrosyan) January 30, 2022

Whilst there’s no questioning the ability of the former, it seems the two clubs have traded places when it comes to the quality of their recruitment, with the Reds having hardly put a foot wrong during much of Michael Edwards’ tenure as sporting director.

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Having enjoyed a superb first-half of the season with FC Porto, we at the Empire of the Kop are particularly excited to see how our Colombian sensation adapts to the challenges posed by the English top-flight.

With our forward line – specifically, Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota and Bobby Firmino – having already racked up an impressive 54 goals between them (across all competitions), the prospect of more goals with the addition of Diaz has to be a frightening one for rival fans.

Given how careful we are too when it comes to bringing in a January signing, we’ve a more than sneaky suspicion that this is the kind of acquisition that could turn out wonderfully for Liverpool.

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It’s not generous to say that Liverpool have looked a credible threat in front of goal in their last few fixtures, despite failing to capitalise on their chances week after week.

Following the club’s latest stress-inducing outing, this time against Newcastle United, Guardian journalist Artur Petrosyan posted a tweet detailing how many shots the Reds had taken against their prior three opponents.

Liverpool attempted 54 shots in the last three matches.
Scored 2 goals.
Won 0 games.

— Artur Petrosyan (@arturpetrosyan) April 24, 2021

Though injuries in the heart of defence have almost certainly played a part in derailing our campaign, it’s difficult to not place any of the blame on our forward line after another tame showing in front of goal.

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We’re missing parts of the equation still, of course, with Virgil van Dijk’s pace and diagonal balls respectively allowing Liverpool to play a high line effectively and stretch the play – all things that feed into goalscoring chances – a considerable loss.

We’ve got the impression of late, however, that no matter how many chances – even gifted chances from the opposition – are lobbed in the way of Sadio Mane and co., we can’t seem to exercise any sort of ruthless edge to dismantle sides as we may have done in the past.

Perhaps the new forward Jurgen Klopp is reportedly after will help matters, but it remains bizarre to see our current options failing to replicate their characteristic lethality in the 18-yard-box.

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With potential deals for Piotr Zielinski and Mahmoud Dahoud having screeched to a halt, according to the Echo, Liverpool are back to square one in our pursuit of a new midfielder.

Well, another name we can rule out is Axel Witsel. Russian journalist and Liverpool expert Artur Petrosyan has confirmed that we have not lodged a bid for the Zenit St Petersburg star.

Petrosyan, the editor-in-chief of Sport-Express.ru, understands that there are only two clubs in for the £16m-rated Belgian international as he seeks to leave Russia, one of whom is Everton.

But apparently we have little reason to be concerned about Witsel potentially ending up at our Merseyside rivals. Petrosyan tweeted suggesting that we would have a lucky escape not signing him.

#LFC have not (luckily) made any bids for Witsel. It’s between Everton (better offer) and Napoli (Champs League). He’s around £16m+bonuses.

— Artur Petrosyan (@arturpetrosyan) July 4, 2016

Witsel is slower than Can, not tough enough, will be overrun and overfought constantly if ends up in England. Not Klopp’s type of player.

— Artur Petrosyan (@arturpetrosyan) July 4, 2016

Witsel played every minute of Belgium’s Euro 2016 campaign before they were knocked out by Wales in Friday’s quarter-final, with Joe Allen again in superb form for the Red Dragons.

With potential midfield signings seemingly dropping like flies, is it time that Allen, who is out of contract next summer, got his chance to nail down a first-team spot at Anfield?

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