Arsenal are yet to agree a fee with Shakhtar Donetsk for the transfer of Mykhaylo Mudryk. The Gunners are prioritising a move for the 22-year-old in the January transfer window but face competition from Chelsea for his signature.
Shakhtar Donetsk director of sport Darijo Srna was spotted watching the Blues' 1-0 defeat against Manchester City on Thursday night as Todd Boehly looks to hijack Arsenal's move for Mudryk. The north Londoners refuse to be dragged into a bidding war for the Ukraine international after having an initial bid of £55million rejected.
Arsenal improved their offer to £62million and are still waiting on Shakhtar's response with the player pushing for a move to the Emirates Stadium, highlighted by his activity on social media. The agent of Shakhtar winger, Alexey Alekhin, has discussed the possibility of a transfer exit as negotiations continue.
READ MORE: Mykhaylo Mudryk's agent breaks silence on Arsenal and Chelsea transfer with 'decision' claim
The Ukrainian outfit have publicly demanded £85million for their star player, a similar fee to what Manchester United paid for Antony in the summer. Shakhtar Donetsk vice director Carlo Nicolini told Italian news outlet Calciomercato: "€60million (£53million) it's not enough to sign Mudryk.
"Our director said that we need a bid closer to the Jack Grealish fee (£100million) than Antony (£86million) to sell Mudryk. We're not even considering a bid with €40million (£35million) as fixed fee."
Shakhtar chiefs on more than one occasion have said Mudryk is a better player than Antony and value him at the same amount as the Brazilian, with the 22-year-old being compared to Paris Saint-Germain superstars Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. Nicolini told Calcio Napoli 24: "We’re not in a hurry to sell Mudryk, we don’t need money.
"We consider Mykhaylo stronger than Antony so you can now understand the value - the price tag is clear."
Mudryk has played fewer than 50 matches for the Shakhtar first team, meaning he is an unproven quantity but his performances in the Champions League have resulted in Premier League interest. United had to pay a larger fee than they initially wanted to in order to convince Ajax to sell Antony in the summer, now the Gunners may have to do the same to get Mudryk and aid their Premier League title charge.
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