‘Arsenal have already made an important offer for Mykhailo Mudryk’

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:55 CDT
• 4 min read

Arsenal have opened talks with Shakhtar Donetsk over Ukraine international winger Mykhailo Mudryk, according to a report from Italy.

Mudryk is set to be one of the headliners in football transfer news over the January period, having caught the eye for much of 2022.

The 21-year-old has been strongly associated with Arsenal, but other clubs have previously been linked with him, including Liverpool, Real Madrid, Everton and Juventus.

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The Gunners, however, have led the way in terms of chasing the winger and have already made an “important” offer for him, according to Italian journalist Mirko Di Natale.

Previously, Shakhtar had hinted that they wanted upwards of €100 million for Mudryk, although in reality he is liable to move for a much smaller sum, with the player admitting that figure “wounded” his prospects of the big January transfer that he craves.

Di Natale, meanwhile, has been in direct contract with senior officials at Shakhtar to talk the prospect of Juventus landing Mudryk – and the news for Arsenal there is good.

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Mudryk bids invited by Shakhtar

Speaking to Carlo Nicolini, Shakhtar’s deputy sporting director, for TuttoJuve, he asked about the Serie A side’s hopes of landing the player.

“Mudryk is a phenomenon, a great prospect for the future and huge clubs such as Juventus have taken an interest in him,” Nicolini revealed. “There has never been direct contact or negotiation with the Bianconeri.

“The insiders of the top clubs are following him and the Champions League was even more important to showcase his value.”

Nicolini suggested that there has been no formal offer for Mudryk as yet from Arsenal or anyone else – but this runs contrary to the information that Di Natale has gleaned from elsewhere.

“Now it will be time to get back in contact with the club, the agent and Mykhailo to see if anyone will start a negotiation. For the moment, Mudryk is focused exclusively on the last two games of the championship. He’s a great professional and he’ll leave these rumours to those responsible for dealing with him. Then we’ll break and we’ll see if anything happens or not,” the director concluded.

Mudryk's transfer to Arsenal, then, slowly seems to be gaining in momentum.