Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergey Palkin believes Giorgi Sudakov will go onto big things if he can produce more stand-out performances in the Champions League.

The 22-year-old is thought to be one of the rising stars in European football, having helped Shakhtar to the Ukrainian Premier League in the last two seasons.

He was also one of the standout players of Ukraine's Euro 2024 campaign, creating the third-most chances (four) and having the most shots (nine), though he failed to hit the back of the net as they exited in the group stage.

With the start of their next Champions League campaign just around the corner – they kick off against Bologna on Wednesday – Palkin is expecting big things from the young midfielder.

Speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, Palkin said: "Everybody knows about Sudakov.

"I believe he is the new European star. Half a year ago, we had negotiations with Napoli. They proposed €40million. But we believe that he costs much more.

"Therefore, we believe that in this Champions League, he will show his best. Because he has the dream to play in a top-ranked European club.

"If he shows good football, I believe he will jump to this club".