David Ornstein’s sources feel Mykhaylo Mudryk has a very good chance of joining Arsenal in January, after Shakhtar Donetsk’s CEO held transfer talks this week.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein initially reported this week that Mykhaylo Mudryk is Arsenal’s priority target in January.
Elaborating on that report, Ornstein revealed that sources believe there’s a good chance of a deal, and the player could even push to bring the price down.
“[Mudryk] is Arsenal’s priority target for this transfer window and a number of people with knowledge of the situation feel that there’s a very good chance it will happen,” Ornstein said.
“People I speak to say despite this public pronouncement about €100m, privately, Shakhtar will accept a lower fee and that he is very enthusiastic about the idea of joining Arsenal, with the priority being the Premier League.
“And so he could push potentially and I think Arsenal and maybe others will be hoping that him pushing helps bring down the price.
“Arsenal may have other options, but he is their focus…he is their first-choice candidate for strengthening their attack in the January transfer window.”
Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergei Palkin spoke to the media about the possibility of a January deal, after holding talks in London this week.
“To be honest, I do not know,” Palkin said. “At the moment, we are quite far from what we want and what clubs propose. It’s not so far but it is not what we need. We have discussions. One club, another club, they negotiate. We are in the process.
“Will it close this month? I don’t know. It is maybe 50-50 with regards to the winter transfer window. I don’t want to talk about figures now. We are in discussions. We have interest from some English clubs and we are in the process.”
Meanwhile, Mudryk himself was seemingly in Dubai on holiday. An interesting coincidence, given the current presence of the Arsenal squad in the city.
Tariq Panja reports that Shakhtar Donetsk’s representatives were in the English capital this week, with talks ongoing with at least four clubs for Mykhaylo Mudryk.
Panja claims there’s no sign of an imminent breakthrough and talks could drag on beyond the January window.
Speaking to the Here We Go podcast, Fabrizio Romano confirmed Arsenal are in contact with Mudryk’s camp, and he believes the Gunners will get that move in 2023.
The winger’s agent Oleksiy Alyokhin has suggested that the January window could be the right time for him to leave Shakhtar.
“It can be seen with the naked eye that he outgrew the championship of Ukraine a long time ago and is ready to perform at a more serious level,” Alyokhin said. “He needs to progress.
“And in my opinion, now is the best time for it. I think everyone will benefit from this. Shakhtar, the national team of Ukraine, and the player himself.”
Mudryk has scored 10 goals and assisted eight in 18 appearances for Shakhtar Donetsk this season, including five goals and assists in his six Champions League appearances.