Report: Newcastle now lining up £85m record move for 21-year-old midfielder this summer

Newcastle United are now reportedly looking to smash their current transfer record which stands at £63million with a move for Ukrainian midfielder.

It is being reported by Tutto Juve journalist Mirko Di Natale (via Football Fancast) that Newcastle are among five Premier League clubs interested in Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Georgiy Sudakov.

At just 21 the midfielder already has 12 international caps under his belt for the Ukraine and is expected to be the subject of plenty of interest from top clubs this summer.

Both Manchester clubs, Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle have all requested information on the midfielder as they put together their scouting profiles.

Sudakov has been told he can leave Shakhtar Donetsk

Sudakov has already stated his desire to leave Dontetsk and was upset when the club rejected a £40million approach by Napoli, but he has now been given assurances he will be allowed to leave.

“I was a little upset at the beginning [that I wasn't sold], but then I understood the club. I still haven’t given my all and the club want to get as much money as possible from my sale.

“Therefore, I agreed to extend it by six more months until winter 2028 because the previous agreement was valid until summer. Palkin has said I can go to Europe in six months or a year and trust him and the President.”

£85m on a midfielder will be beyond Newcastle this summer

Despite the promise that he can leave, the fact that Shakhtar already turned down £40million suggests that the club will be holding out for a figure closer to his release clause fee which sits at around £85million.

If Newcastle were to cough up that amount of money it would dwarf the £63million spent on Alexander Isak.

However, with Newcastle so terrified of FFP as well as needing so many players in varying positions, we aren't expecting the club to make any huge deals this summer, rather a series of smaller deals. There could be room for a statement signing in there, but if that's the case we expect that will be a forward rather than a midfielder.