Personal terms agreed: Arsenal and the club have reach ‘one agreement’ after latest offer tabled by Arsenal
Arsenal are edging closer to completing the signing of their priority January transfer target, Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk. Shakhtar have reportedly agreed to a significant part of the Gunners’ third offer, but there is still work to do to convince them to part with their most prized asset.
According to The Telegraph, discussions now revolve around the final details and structure of the fee after Arsenal committed to a deal worth up to £80million.
There is confidence that it will be a sufficient fee, despite Shakhtar’s public valuation of almost £90m.
However, the Ukrainian club consider how much is paid upfront and in instalments as crucial to accept the approach.
CBS Sports also report that there is something of an agreement about the guaranteed fee for Mudryk, but Shakhtar are mulling over the total and could ask Arsenal to raise the overall bid through bonuses.
The initial agreement will be seen as a hurdle overcome, given the club are typically tough negotiators who were never going to let Mudryk leave easily.
And Mikel Arteta could be growing increasingly confident that he will have his man before next weekend’s mammoth Premier League clash against Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.
Mudryk hasn’t kept his desire to join Arsenal a secret, regularly hailing the club in interviews last year – one of which was conducted by Gunners defender Oleksandr Zinchenko’s wife.
The 22-year-old has continued his attempts to force a Premier League move by posting indirect pleas to join Arsenal and liking Arsenal-related posts on social media.
For that reason, personal terms won’t be a problem once Shakhtar are happy with the structure of payments.
There could be underlying fears that Chelsea are waiting in the wings to hijack Arsenal’s move for Mudryk once Shakhtar’s demands become clear.
However, the CBS report states that the Gunners don’t view their London rivals as a threat in their pursuit, with Mudryk’s preference to switch to the Emirates.
Arteta will hope the left-winger, who can also operate on the right, can boost Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes in the second half of the season.
His arrival would offer the Spaniard’s side attacking depth that isn’t far inferior to title rivals Manchester City.
