Roma waiting on bid for Arsenal's Mudryk alternative

Stuart Telford

• 19 Jan 2023 14:33 GMT
• 3 min read

Arsenal have plenty of transfer budget to spend after seeing their top target Mykhailo Mudryk move to Chelsea, and Roma hope to be a beneficiary.

Arsenal had been chasing Mudryk since at least last summer, and the Ukraine winger has spent the last six months speaking of his desire to join the Gunners and liking their posts on social media.

But Chelsea stole in at the last during the current winter transfer window, offering Shakhtar Donestk €100 million - €70m up front with another €30m to follow in add-ons - and Mudryk will be playing his football at Stamford Bridge for the foreseeable future instead.

READ: Three cheaper alternatives to Mudryk for Arsenal

Nicolo Zaniolo has been scouted as a potential alternative to Mudryk, and although Roma would be loath to lose another talented player, they would let him leave for a significant sum.

"The Giallorossi player is attracted by the Premier League," report Italian daily newspaper la Repubblica. "Roma are waiting for an offer but would only let him go with the obligation to buy.

"It almost seems like a curse. Every six months, at each transfer window, the English wind blows again towards Rome to try and take away one of the team's jewels… Arsenal now find themselves with an avalanche of money to spend on a winger capable of playing on both flanks."

READ: Arsenal in advanced talks with Leandro Trossard – Fabrizio Romano

Trossard trouble?

Whether that winger will be Zaniolo remains to be seen, however, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that Leandro Trossard is set to complete a transfer from Brighton to Arsenal imminently.

Italy international Zaniolo is rated at €13.7m by Football Transfers' in-house algorithm, although Roma will demand more with the winger market in particular having gone into overdrive of late.

If they can command a big enough fee, they might even be hoping that Arsenal can see a way to incorporate Zaniolo and Trossard into their squad.

With Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli the only fit first-team wingers at the Emirates, Roma might not have to hold their breath for long.