“Bid made”: Director confirms Arsenal’s interest in £40m star, player keen to join Gunners this winter
Shakhtar Donetsk’s vice sporting director Carlo Nicolini has confirmed that Arsenal are keen on signing Mykhaylo Mudryk in January.
The 21-year-old burst onto the scene in recent months after displaying impressive performances in the Champions League group stage this season, scoring three goals and notching up two assists in six appearances. The youngster showcased his qualities against teams like Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Celtic who were in the same group along with the Ukrainian giants.
It has been widely reported that the Gunners expressed their interest in Mudryk last summer, however, they never made any concrete approach to sign the Ukrainian international.
Meanwhile, David Ornstein has recently claimed that Arsenal have identified the Shakhtar ace as their priority target to strengthen the attacking department this January, with Mudryk keen on moving to the Emirates Stadium.
During an interview with Calciomercato, Shakhtar director Nicolini has now stated that Mudryk has been asked to report for the training on January 9th before the season resumes.
Mykhaylo Mudryk to Arsenal
Nicolini further confirmed that Arsenal are indeed showing interest in signing the attacker this winter, but the north London club are yet to submit an official proposal.
Carlo Nicolini said:
“Today Mudryk has received the message that he needs to be present at the restart of training in Antalya on January 9th. Arsenal is a club interested, I can’t deny it.”
Shakhtar have suggested that they don’t want to accept anything less than £87m to sell their star man this January. However, a previous report claimed that the Ukrainian giants could accept a fee of around £40m plus bonuses for Mudryk.
It would be almost impossible for Arsenal to broker a deal for the 21-year-old this winter if Shakhtar stay firm on their £87m valuation but a £40m fee seems far more realistic. Mikel Arteta’s side are seemingly pushing hard to make this deal happen, which could be the indication that the Gunners have been informed internally that Shakhtar might accept a lower fee to sell their biggest asset.
With Mudryk keen on joining the north London club this January, it could force Igor Juvicevic’s side to reduce their valuation.
So, it will be interesting to see whether Arsenal will be able to sign their priority target, Mudryk, this January to bolster the attacking department and help Arteta in pushing for the title after the new year.
