Mykhaylo Mudryk is a man in demand this January as Arsenal and Chelsea battle it out for the 22-year-old winger's signature.
The Shakhtar Donestk forward has made little secret of his desire to leave the Ukrainian giants and openly admitted he would be sad if he couldn't force through an exit this month. Mudryk first emerged as a target for the Gunners, who have long wanted to bolster their options out wide to ease the workload on Bukayo Saka.
However, over the last few days Arsenal's London rivals Chelsea have emerged as an option for Mudryk and the Blues are rumoured to be willing to meet Shakhtar's astronomical £88million asking price - unlike Mikel Arteta's men.
Initially, it seemed as if the Gunners had very little to worry about due to the fact that Mudryk appeared to only have eyes for the Emirates. The Ukrainian international was regularly liking posts on Instagram mentioning his proposed Arsenal switch and even uploaded footage of him watching Arteta's side to his story.
A week later, when the Gunners made the trip to Brighton - now managed by Mudryk's former coach Roberto De Zerbi, the winger took to social media to share a snap of Arteta and De Zerbi on the touchline alongside the caption 'two top coaches'.
To all who were witnessing Mudryk's social media exploits, it seemed as if he only ever had eyes for Arsenal - but new reports suggest he has had his head slightly turned by Chelsea's interest.
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Shakhtar's sporting director Darijo Srna and CEO Serhii Palkin have been holding talks with Blues owner Todd Boehly, who is thought to be very keen on landing Mudryk from under the noses of table-toppers Arsenal.
The aforementioned Shakhtar duo were spotted in Boehly's box on Thursday night during Chelsea's 1-0 home defeat by reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.
Key injuries sustained by Chelsea during that loss to Pep Guardiola's side have only increased their desire to sign Mudryk given the Blues forward line currently boasts so many sidelined stars, including Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic.
With all this being said, Arsenal reportedly remain confident that they are still in the driving seat when it comes to the race for Mudryk despite Chelsea's interest.
The Gunners are adamant that they will no be dragged into a bidding war for the 22-year-old and still harbour some reservations over meeting Shakhtar's asking price.
This transfer saga has all the makings of one that is likely to rumble on right until the very end of the window later this month.
