Chelsea remain hopeful of hijacking Arsenal’s move for Shakhtar Donetsk star Mykhaylo Mudryk after holding talks over a potential transfer.
The Gunners have submitted an improved second bid for the Ukraine international, who has been a long-term target, but Mirror Football understands Chelsea have held discussions with Shakhtar this week over a move as they look to gazump their London rivals.
Mudryk, 21, has enjoyed an explosive season at the Ukraine giants with 11 goals in 19 appearances – including three strikes in the Champions League group stages. A youth-team graduate of the club, Mudryk has established himself as the star and talisman of a team decimated by player departures over the past year due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Shakhtar have publicly stated that they value their star forward at £85m and they will be optimistic that any potential sale value will rise with a bidding war between the two London giants. Arsenal's first rejected bid was believed to be in the region of £55million, with £20m of that fee in potential add-ons.
Mudryk has been scouted extensively by many of Europe’s biggest clubs, having contributed 11 goals and provided eight assists in all competitions this campaign. However, Arsenal and Chelsea are the only clubs to have formalised their interest in the star.
The Ukrainian club have previously publicly expressed their openness to entering into negotiations in the January transfer window - but want a club record fee. Arsenal are keen to bolster their attacking options due to shortness in squad depth, exacerbated by an injury to striker Gabriel Jesus.
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Chelsea however are now evaluating whether they can move ahead of the North London club for Mudryk, who is believed to be keen on a move to the English capital. The Blues are ambitious of investing heavily in their squad this month.
Monaco defender Benoit Badiashile is on the verge of moving to Stamford Bridge in a deal worth £33million, while Chelsea are hopeful of making Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez the most expensive Premier League player of all time.
The Argentine World Cup winning midfielder has a £106million release clause in his contract at the Lisbon giants, but Chelsea are believed to have tabled a bid of £112m to secure the midfielder – with the transfer divided into three equal instalments of £37m to spread the cost of the deal into different financial years.
New Blues owner Todd Boehly oversaw a notable summer transfer spend with multiple big-money arrivals including Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly, Wesley Fofana, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Carney Chukwuemeka and Marc Cucurella.
