Arsenal have already signed Shakhtar Donetsk talent Mykhalo Mudryk, according to teammate Anatoliy Trubin.
To be clear, there is no concrete bid made for the winger, but there is certainly interest on the part of the north London side, and Arsenal are on the hunt for a winger this January.
And Mudryk has shone on the Champions League stage, with three goals and two assists in six outings even as his side have only managed to win once and ended up in a Europa League spot, meaning that they could be due to face Arsenal in the coming months.
Mudryk has also found the net three times and has grabbed a further five assists in the Ukrainian top flight as his star continues on its meteoric rise.
And Shakhtar goalkeeper Trubin has joked that his teammates keep him grounded by telling him that he has ‘already’ joined Arsenal, such is their certainty that he will join a big club.
“I like that he is focused only on himself, his and the team’s game,” Trubin said. “Fans don’t really see that much. No one sees what he is doing away from the football field.
“All these transfer rumours affect him only in a positive way, because he enjoys what he does. And, in the team, we can tell him; ‘well, you’re already at Arsenal, let’s all go!’”
Mudryk was subject to interest from Brentford, who tabled a €30m bid for the winger in the summer, whilethe Gunners were also credited with an interest though no bid was forthcoming.
Shakhtar held firm for a free of around €50m, however, and that has since doubled following his strong displays in Europe, claims Shakhtar Donetsk deputy sporting director Carlo Nicolini.
“There are many English candidates, there are the Spanish on duty, the French on duty, but now it takes the right amount to take him away”, he told Italian outlet Calcio Mercato. “Together with [Kylian] Mbappe, [Rafael] Leao and Vinicius, Mudryk is the strongest player in that position.”
“Is €40m enough to buy him? We do not speak to these figures. Not even for €50m, we don’t even call the president to communicate the offer. We value Mudryk more than Antony of Manchester United, who cost €100m.
“We are not obliged to sell, we do not want to make phenomena. We don’t want to shoot figures that aren’t realistic. But in this team, he is the most decisive. If you want to take on certain players who make a difference in the top clubs, you also need the right money.”
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