Arsenal and Chelsea have been warned that Shakhtar Donetsk have “no need” to sell Mykhaylo Mudryk with an £86m price tag still firmly attached to the player.
Carlo Nicolini, deputy director of the Ukrainian club, has outlined their demands for the 21-year-old with Manchester United’s summer purchase of Brazilian star Antony viewed as a similar deal.
Previously, Shakhtar have spoken about wanting Jack Grealish money for Mudryk, in reference to Manchester City’s British record £100m transfer. United paid £80m up front when signing Antony from Ajax, with £5m in add-ons.
Nicolini told CalcioNapoli24: “Given that we have no need for transfers, we said that we will take time to evaluate the strongest players in this position, such as Antony.
“This is the parameter.”
The Donetsk director revealed Napoli as one of the teams who came in for Mudryk before this window, with summer bids from Brentford and Everton rejected.
Arsenal are thought to have the player’s approval on a January transfer but, with no fee agreed, Chelsea hope to gazump them having missed out on Enzo Fernandez.
He added: “When you get to a player first, you have to take your shot. Otherwise the prices change.”
