Arsenal have been in talks with Shakhtar Donetsk over the signing of Mykhaylo Mudryk for some time. The Gunners have already had two official offers knocked back but continue to push ahead in the hope of agreeing on a deal to sign the winger before the January window closes.
Mikel Arteta has identified Mudryk as his priority for the winter and football.london understands that talks are ongoing and progressing positively. The winger has made it clear his preference is a switch to the Emirates Stadium and the Arsenal boss has spoken openly about his belief that players will move where they want to play.
He told football.london ahead of the Oxford United game: "Valuations have to be made between the selling club and the buying club, and it is difficult, but it shows there are a lot of clubs with a lot of financial power to spend big amounts, and we have to compete with them. To be smart, we have to see good opportunities and we have to be attractive for players.
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"At the end of the day, players decide where they want to play. And if they want to play for our club, that is great."
However, despite the optimism, we are not nearly halfway through the window and there remains to be a breakthrough regarding an agreement between the clubs. The hope will be this can be reached though in the coming weeks.
Yet, this is far from the only reason behind the lengthy negotiations which have many frustrated with how long the deal is taking. The reality is there are a number of factors dragging out the potential transfer.
Firstly, Shakhtar Donetsk are known for being a club that are shrewd in negotiations and stubborn with their valuations, often getting maximum value for their high-profile exports. Players such as Fred, Alex Teixeira, Douglas Costa, Fernandinho, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Willian have made the club more than €200million (£176.9million).
Therefore, with a player like Mudryk, a homegrown one at that, and considered potentially the best talent to come out of the country, the club are looking for more than £52million record sale of Fred to Manchester United which was more than four years ago. However, the financial situation forced on Shakhtar has worsened their stance.
The Ukrainian club are seeking €50million (£44.2million) worth of damages from FIFA as reported by The Athletic. They filed documents to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in July due to a ruling by the football’s world governing body that on June 21 2022 stated foreign players and coaches have the right to suspend their employment contracts with Ukrainian clubs until June 30 2023.
The Russian invasion had already heavily impacted the club’s revenue streams that saw the curtailing of the 2021/22 season. Foreign players were to be sold to help respond to the financial challenges, but the timing of the ruling meant they had to rush sales and lost out heavily on potential fees.
Fast-forward to January 2023 and whilst Ukrainian Premier League football is back underway, the loss of talent has seen the dominant force in the country currently sit second in the table behind Dnipro-1. Losing Mudryk would further weaken the side and make their own title challenge that much harder.
Level on points with third place Dynamo Kyiv and Zoria just two points behind them, missing out on Champions League qualification is a very real possibility which would cost the side millions in revenue. Therefore, any sale of Mudryk would need to compensate for that potential eventuality.
Furthermore, it's worth noting that Arsenal have more needs than just this winger position. Centre-forward and central midfield are also areas that the Gunners have needs and interest in a number of options could be undermined should the price for Muryk rise too high and so Edu has to balance these scenarios.
Whilst Arsenal have made what they believe to be two good offers for Mudryk, Shakhtar have remained steadfast in their valuation. The hope is that the two clubs will reach an agreement but the reality for the Gunners is it will take time and more money to see it through.
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