Arsenal report: Gunners will have to shell out almost £90m to land Mykhaylo Mudryk

By Tom Hancock
published

Arsenal may also now face competition from London rivals Chelsea in their pursuit of the highly-rated Shakhtar Donetsk winger

Arsenal-linked Mykhaylo Mudryk of Shakhtar Donetsk celebrates after scoring during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic and Shakhtar Donetsk on 25 October, 2022 at Celtic Park in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
(Image credit: Ross MacDonald/SNS Group via Getty Images)

Arsenal (opens in new tab) will have to significantly increase their bid for Mykhaylo Mudryk if they're to win the race for the Shakhtar Donetsk and Ukraine prodigy, according to reports.

The Gunners are said to have had a bid in the region of £55m rejected (opens in new tab) just before the turn of the year.

But their second offer – thought to be worth roughly £62m – seems to have been scoffed at by Shakhtar, with Goal (opens in new tab) claiming that the Ukrainian giants are demanding £88m for Mudryk.

Mykhaylo Mudryk of Shakhtar Donetsk prior to the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic and Shakhtar Donetsk on 25 October, 2022 at Celtic Park in Glasgow, United Kingdom

(Image credit: Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)

The 21-year-old winger is one of the hottest properties in Europe right now and has been strongly linked with a move to Arsenal for some time.

Dubbed 'the Ukrainian Neymar', Mudryk could spark a bidding war: Sky Sports (opens in new tab) report that Chelsea (opens in new tab) are considering an approach of their own, with owner Todd Boehly set to meet representatives from Shakhtar this week.

Mudryk starred for Shakhtar in this season's Champions League, scoring home and away against Celtic (opens in new tab) – as well as in a 4-1 thrashing of RB Leipzig (opens in new tab) in Germany.

Shakhtar ultimately dropped into the Europa League – where he would be able to play for Arsenal, with UEFA abolishing the cup-tied rule in its competitions back in 2018 (he would get Champions League football with Chelsea, though).

Mykhaylo Mudryk of Ukraine reacts during the friendly match between Borussia Monchengladbach and Ukraine on 11 May, 2022 at BORUSSIA-PARK in Monchengladbach, Germany.

(Image credit: Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images)

Mudryk made his senior Ukraine debut in May last year and has earned eight caps so far, featuring in the World Cup qualifying play-offs against Scotland and Wales.

He's also previously played for Arsenal... during a 2019 loan spell with the Gunners' Kyiv-based namesakes.

More Arsenal stories

Arsenal are one of the clubs who have been linked with a move for Brighton's Argentine World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister, but the midfielder says he is in no haste to leave the Seagulls (opens in new tab).

Meanwhile, the Gunners are said to have been put off an approach for Joao Felix due to Atletico Madrid's asking valuation of the Portugal star (opens in new tab).

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Tom Hancock

Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for The Analyst and When Saturday Comes, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...