Why Mikhail Mudrik is not worth 100 million euros

Shakhtar midfielder Mykhailo Mudryk is in demand among the leading teams in Europe. The leaders of the Donetsk club publicly note that they do not plan to sell their leader cheaply. They compare Mudrik with Jack Grealish and Anthony, for whom 100 million euros were paid.

Mudrik's progress is obvious. The Transfermarkt portal raised the cost of the Ukrainian from 15 million to 40 million. Mykhailo performed well in the Champions League, became a member of the Ukrainian national team, he is the best in the UPL, but 100 million is a frankly overestimated amount. Mudrik is not worth much. There are objective reasons for this.

Team of Ukraine. A candidate for a big transfer must be the main player of the national team of his country, and the national team must be successful. Mudrik has been playing for the national team only since spring. Not even a year yet. The national team could not get a ticket to the World Cup in the struggle and did not even make it to Division A of the League of Nations. Performances in Qatar would be a great showcase for Mikhail. The Dutchman Gakpo, after a successful game, received interest from the leading teams in Europe.

UPL. There is no doubt that Mudryk is the best player in this championship by a wide margin. He is technical, creative and very fast. No one can come close to his level. But the current championship is very weak. because of the war, the UPL lost many legionnaires. Serious conclusions about the Ukrainian league cannot be made.

Ukrainian. So far, there are not so many of our compatriots in the leading clubs in Europe. Yes, Shevchenko was a player of the first magnitude. Luzhny and Voronin played at a high level. Malinovsky shone in Italy not so long ago. Zinchenko was on the sidelines in Manchester City. If Mudrik were Brazilian, Spanish, English, French, then it would be much easier for him to get an expensive transfer. Unfortunately, Ukrainians have a slightly different attitude.

Year of senior football. So far, Mudrik has not played at a high level for so long. De Zerbi has six months. The second part of last season did not take place due to the war. This season is only the first round. In fact, there is one full season. This is very little to draw serious conclusions about a football player.

Agents. To move to a big club, you need an appropriate intermediary who will have contacts, authority and personal relationships among the managers of European giants and can negotiate with them. Mikhail's interests are represented by the ALIK FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT agency. This is a Ukrainian office. The owners of the company are two Alekseys - Lundovsky and Alekhin. The company also represents the interests of Artem Dovbik. On the sidelines, they are associated with Yevgeny Krasnikov. Officially, they have no experience of big transitions to serious clubs. The same Dovbik cannot go anywhere.

Nothing to do with Grealish and Anthony. The miner's bosses compare Mudrik with these players and directly say that Mikhail should cost how much. In fact, there is nothing in common between these players in terms of transfers. Grealish moved to Manchester City already as a formed player and had a full 25 years. With experience playing in the Premier League and leadership at Aston Villa. He came to the place of Sanya sold to Bayern. Jack from the England team reached the final of Euro 2020. Played in Qatar.

Manchester United paid so much for Anthony because the Brazilian was coached in Amsterdam by the current Mancunian coach Erik ten Hag. He knows its potential very well. In addition, the winger was already a player in the Brazilian national team. Comparing the football player of the Ukrainian national team with the players of the national teams of Brazil and England is somehow not very correct.

Power custody. Mudrik was doing well in the Champions League until he confronted physically strong players. Real Madrid twice and Leipzig away were not afraid to play against Shakhtar with high defense without Mudrik's double tutelage. Rüdiger lost almost nothing to Mikhail one-on-one. And Simakan completely closed the Ukrainian in the last round of the Champions League. Both due to the length of the legs and physical strength left Mudrik out of work. If the opponent plays more tightly and tougher, then the Shakhtar winger does not succeed. Despite the fact that Rüdiger and Simakan are not the strongest defenders in the world. The Leipzig defender did not even go to Qatar with the French national team, and Rudiger's Germany failed at the World Cup.

Shakhtar tactics. Jovićević makes the most of Mudrik's strengths in building the team's play. The team plays to the strengths of its leader. In the Champions League, they waited, endured, in order to have 3-4 opportunities for Mudrik's high-speed runs. When Mudryk plays for another club and under a different coach, things may be different. No one will specially sharpen the game for him. For example, in the Ukrainian national team, where there is a different coach and a different formation, Mudryk is not so bright.

Market reality. Fabrizio Romano reports that PSV have valued their leader Cody Gakpo at 50 million euros. The same Romano writes that Chelsea agreed on the transfer of Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku for 60 million. Both are already formed footballers playing in attack, stars of strong championships, represent the leading clubs in Europe. Transfermarkt rates both above Mudrik at 45m for Gakpo and 80m for Nkunku. The amount of potential transfers of these players is far from 100 million.

Sergei TISHCHENKO