The January transfer window has been open since Sunday and for Arsenal, in particular, it has been dominated by developments regarding Mykhaylo Mudryk.
And this is despite the north London outfit seeing their first offer for the talented winger - which football.london understands was believed to be in the region of £55million including add-ons - rejected by Shakhtar Donetsk who have publicly stated they are looking for a bid "closer to the Jack Grealish fee (£100million)".
With that said, fresh reports claim the Gunners have tested the Ukrainian side's resolve once again by making an improved offer for Mudryk. Although, whilst the second bid is apparently still short of Shakhtar's asking price, according to Goal, the new terms are being considered.
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It remains to be seen if Arsenal's second bid is accepted or whether they'll have to go back in for a third time in their attempts to sign a player who has already netted 10 goals across all competitions so far this season. However, it should be noted that Mudryk has made little secret of his desire to complete a move this month.
"I do dream [of the Premier League]. I think every guy dreams about the Premier League," he said in an interview with CBS Sports back in September. "Arsenal is a very good team with a very good coach. I like the way they play. Yes it would be hard to say no from my side, I can't say no but the transfer is not only my decision and my word."
Those comments, in addition to Mudryk's social media activity points towards reports of the winger already reaching an agreement on personal terms with the Gunners being accurate, but until there's a breakthrough in negotiations with Shakhtar then the forward will be staying put.
Interestingly, Arsenal are facing a race against time to wrap up a deal for the Ukraine international due to the fact he is due to meet up with his Shakhtar teammates next week for a training camp in Turkey ahead of their season resuming next month with a Europa League knockout round play-off tie against Rennes.
"Mudryk has received the message, like all the other players, to show up for the training camp in Antalya on January 9," Shakhtar Donetsk's deputy sporting director Carlo Nicolini said when speaking to TVPlay. "Arsenal's interest is there, I can't deny it. However, today he is called up for the first training camp which runs from January 9 to February 9, then in Warsaw we will prepare for the next European games."
Therefore, if the Gunners do get the green light to confirm the 21-year-old as their first signing of the winter window in the coming hours, they have been handed the perfect day for an announcement as Thursday, January 5 happens to be Mudryk's birthday. So what better way for the winger to celebrate turning 22 than by completing his move to one of the biggest teams in Europe as well?
A player signing for a new club on their birthday doesn't happen too often in football - if it ever has happened - so Arsenal have the incentive to do something rather unique with Mudryk but only the one condition that all the necessary formalities are completed before Thursday.
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