Mykhaylo Mudryk has been encouraged to snub a move to Arsenal and, instead, join Chelsea. The 22-year-old winger has been heavily linked with an exit from Shakhtar Donetsk this month, with a number of top clubs eager to acquire his signature.
The Gunners made their first attempt to sign Mudryk less than a week before the January transfer window opened, football.london understands. Arsenal have monitored the winger for some time now as Mikel Arteta looks to bolster the north London side's frontline.
Technical director Edu submitted an official bid in the region of £55million including add-ons but the Gunners' offer falls short of the £80million asking price set by the Ukrainian giants. It's emerged that Chelsea have since joined the race to sign Mudryk, throwing a spanner in the works.
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And, while Arsenal are five points clear at the top of the Premier League, Mudryk has been urged to snub a move to the Emirates Stadium in favour of a 'better project' at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking to CaughtOffside, Stan Collymore said: "I know some fans will argue that considering where both clubs are at the minute, if he were to choose the Blues over the Gunners, it’ll only be for the money.
"And that may well be true, but for me, Chelsea is still the more attractive project. If [Todd] Boehly can sell Chelsea’s future to Mudryk then that’s the more alluring option.
"If I had the choice, I’d choose Chelsea over Arsenal and that’s not me dismissing the good work Mikel Arteta and Arsenal are doing, but I just think over a three or four-year period, the Blues are the better project and the club more likely to consistently compete for silverware. So all that being considered, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mudryk ended up at Stamford Bridge."
With Arsenal and Chelsea both looking for an edge in the race to sign the Ukraine international, Willian teased an intriguing hint. In a picture posted to the Brazilian's Instagram story last week, the Fulham midfielder - who has played for the Gunners and the Blues - revealed that he enjoyed a catch-up with Shakhtar Donetsk chief Srna and former Gunners striker Eduardo.
Willian, Srna and Eduardo were teammates at Shakhtar Donetsk where they enjoyed great success together, including several Ukrainian Premier League titles, a couple of Ukrainian Cups and a Ukrainian Super Cup. It remains to be seen whether the future of Mudryk was a topic of conversation amid interest from Arsenal and Chelsea.
Previously, Shakhtar's chief executive Sergei Palkin claimed he was unsure Mudryk would leave in January. He said: "To be honest, I do not know. At the moment, we are quite far from what we want and what clubs propose.
"It’s not so far but it is not what we need. We have discussions. One club, another club, they negotiate. We are in the process. Will it close this month? I don’t know. It is maybe 50-50 with regards to the winter transfer window. I don’t want to talk about figures now. We are in discussions. We have interest from some English clubs and we are in the process."
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