:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/33388441/187000673.0.jpg)
With continuing unrest in many cities in the east of Ukraine, the Brazilian press has begun to speculate that many of their compatriots playing football in the country will be proactively seeking moves this summer. Amongst them, one of the more intriguing names is Shakhtar Donetsk attacker and Atletico Mineiro product Bernard.
Bernard moved to Shakhtar only last summer for a fee of around £22M, making any potential return to Brazil financially difficult. As a result, there are rumours his agent has already offered the player to Arsenal and Liverpool—two clubs believed to have been tracking the diminutive 21-year-old while he was still in Brazil.
Even if Arsenal and Liverpool are still interested, though, that the Ukrainian club would likely seek to recoup at least most of his fee could prove problematic. Last summer, despite supposed widespread interest in Bernard, Shakhtar were the only side actually willing to make an offer that Atletico Mineiro found acceptable.
As talented a prospect as Bernard is, if neither Liverpool nor Arsenal were willing to pay that kind of price last year, nothing that he did at Shakhtar would have been enough to make him worth it now. Bernard might be eager to leave, and there might be clubs interested in his services, but a fee in excess of £20M would likely scare them off.
All told, one imagines that the only way Bernard actually has a chance of getting his move away from Shakhtar is if the club suddenly become desperate to offload him, even if it means taking a loss. At the moment, that seems unlikely—and that means he's likely stuck where he is.
