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LONDON. — Arsenal have had their opening offer for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk rejected — but the Gunners are set to return with a new bid.
Their opening offer was believed to be in the region of £55million, although part of that amount was due to be paid in add-ons.
Arsenal remain in talks with Shakhtar Donetsk and are expected to return with a fresh offer for Mudryk.
The winger is Arsenal’s top target in January, but Shakhtar Donetsk have publicly said they want close to £85m for him.
It remains to be seen whether Arsenal go that high but there is apparent optimism an agreement can eventually be found between the two clubs. But negotiations are ongoing with the winger remaining Arsenal’s number one target for the upcoming January transfer window — despite the injury suffered by Gabriel Jesus. Arsenal have made it their priority to sign a wide forward during next month’s transfer window in a bid to strengthen their Premier League title challenge.
Mudryk is the club’s preferred target and has been tracked by the Gunners since the summer.
The 21-year-old has caught the eye of several other Premier League clubs, with Manchester City one of those who have scouted him.
Arsenal want to bolster their forward line during the January transfer window and the need to do so has been increased by striker Gabriel Jesus injuring his knee while playing for Brazil at the World Cup.
Jesus is expected to be out for around three months.
Mudryk has already been dubbed the “Ukrainian Neymar” and now Arsenal are confident of bringing his magic to the Emirates.
A bid of up to £55million has been lodged with Shakhtar Donetsk for the 21-year-old winger who has made it clear that he is more than ready to make the move to North London.
But Shakhtar are in no rush to part company, with sporting director Dario Srna claiming: “In this position on the left, Mudryk is the third best youngster in the world behind Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.”
And while Mudryk’s scoring record might not be on the same level as Mbappe’s, his close control, dribbling skills and devastating change of pace are right up there with the French superstar.
No wonder his transfer value has already more than doubled since Everton had a £26million bid rejected on deadline day last summer.
Yet were it not for the outbreak of war in his country, Mudryk’s astonishing progress might not have been half as rapid.
For it was only when Shakhtar’s legion of foreign based players — and particularly their Brazilian attacking players — quit the country that the opportunity opened for Mudryk to play on a regular basis.
Prior to that he had been loaned out to Ukrainian rivals Arsenal Kyiv and then Desna Chernihiv to allow him to gain more first team experience. — The Evening Standard.
Online Reporter