Exclusive: Liverpool and Man City scouts both travelled to Germany to watch 'special' playmaker

Today at 01:15 PM

• EXCLUSIVE from Graeme Bailey

For different reasons, it seems as if both Liverpool and Manchester City would benefit from the addition of a new number 10 in the near future.

Prior to Arne Slot's arrival, Liverpool rarely played a playmaker in behind their strikers, Jurgen Klopp opted for quite a flat midfield.

Man City on the other hand have often opted to do so under Pep Guardiola, with the Kevin De Bruyne years now making way for Phil Foden's continued rise.

That being said if De Bruyne does intend to leave Manchester in the near future, City will need a stellar replacement.

Likewise, Liverpool can't solely rely on Dominik Szoboszlai in the role, even if Trey Nyoni will eventually be coming through.

And to that end, TBR Football understands that both clubs made the trip to Germany to scout Georgiy Sudakov this week.

Liverpool and Man City continue to assess Ukraine star Georgiy Sudakov

22-year-old Sudakov, who continues to play his football for Shakhtar Donetsk, shone for Ukraine at the Euros this year.

And although City and Liverpool scouts were also at the game to watch a host of Atalanta's stars in their 3-0 win over Shakhtar, the clubs were predominantly there to watch Sudakov.

READ MORE: £50m midfielder Liverpool want to sign is ready to move to England

Both Liverpool and City are continuing to assess the 'special' number 10 who the Ukrainian side will likely demand a similar fee for to the one that Chelsea paid for Mykhailo Mudryk.

Sudakov and Mudryk have enjoyed very similar paths at Shakhtar, although the latter made his move to England much earlier.

Interestingly, Sudakov recently told Mudryk he wants to come to England, something the Chelsea winger was cautious about.

Ilya Zabarnyi is a great example of Ukrainian success in the Premier League

Given how Mudryk has by and large 'flopped' in the Premier League, fans of both clubs may be hesitant for their respective sides to spend big on similarly-aged Shakhtar talent.

However, Mudryk shouldn't necessarily be used as a negative example when it comes to buying players from Ukraine's Premier Liga.

Bournemouth have enjoyed a ton of success signing Ilya Zabarnyi from Dynamo Kyiv, a player who will soon be on the radar of all of Europe's top sides.

Sudakov deserves to be judged on his own merits, and the Champions League will certainly be a strong platform in that respect.