Arsenal have been following Mykhaylo Mudryk for a long time and he was on their shortlist in the summer transfer window, according to David Ornstein.
Arsenal are prioritising a move for Mykhaylo Mudryk in the January transfer window, but the Gunners also had the winger on their shortlist in the summer, having followed his progress for a long time now.
That’s according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, who told HaytersTV that Arsenal had Pedro Neto as their first-choice winger signing in the summer, but have since shifted their focus.
“Arsenal will be hoping for some fireworks in the transfer market because Mudryk is the player that they want to sign,” Ornstein said. “21-year-old, Shakhtar Donetsk and Ukraine international winger.
“They’ve followed him for a long time, he was on their list of potential candidates during the summer transfer window.
“They looked at Pedro Neto as the priority then. But now they’ve turned their focus to Mudryk and they are in talks with Shakhtar, with the player’s representatives – so are other clubs.
“Shakhtar publicly said they want €100m, Arsenal won’t want to go that high, I don’t think any club will. I think the likelihood is that Shakhtar will come down in price when push comes to shove.
Ornstein initially reported earlier this month that Mudryk is Arsenal’s priority target in January.
The journalist revealed that sources believe there’s a good chance of a deal, and the player could even push to bring the price down.
Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergei Palkin spoke to the media about the possibility of a January deal, after holding talks in London last 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.”
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.