Arsenal ‘told’ to pay £87m for attacker target amid Man Utd interest

Shakhtar Donetsk have revealed the price tag of winger Mykhaylo Mudryk amid interest from across Europe. Arsenal have been tracking the 21-year-old ahead of a potential January switch.

Mudryk enjoyed a breakthrough season for Shakhtar last time out, bagging eight goal contributions in only eleven league appearances. He has continued his impressive form into the current campaign, starting all but one match in the Ukrainian Premier League and netting five goals and providing six assists in the process. It also comes as no surprise that he has admirers across Europe given his performances in the Champions League, scoring against both Celtic (twice) and RB Leipzig.

Mudryk was said to be available for around £40 million in the summer with Everton reportedly seeing a £30m bid rejected, however it looks like Arsenal will have to pay much more than that if they are to lure the forward to the Premier League. According to The Athletic, Shakhtar will demand close to £90m for them to consider selling the youngster - though Shakhtar’s Director of Football Dario Srna has blamed other transfers for the significant increase.

Speaking to The Athletic, Srna said: “If somebody wants to buy Mudryk, they must pay huge, huge, huge money. Otherwise the president of the club (Rinat Akhmetov) will not sell him. All the clubs must respect the President, respect Shakhtar and in the end they must respect Mykhaylo Mudryk.

“The market is deciding the price, not me. Antony, (Jack) Grealish, they are players of more than €100m and for me, Mudryk does not have less quality than them. This is the last two transfers in the past year, in more or less the same positions. Sancho from Borussia Dortmund. We want just respect. The market is deciding the price, not me, it shows which kind of players cost this kind of money.”

Competition from Man Utd, Man City and PSG

Mudryk looks increasingly likely to earn himself a big money move to the Premier League and has recently shown his support for Arsenal during an interview with Oleksandr Zinchenko’s wife, Vlada Sedan. Speaking on YouTube, the Ukrainian said: “Yeah. I check on them [Arsenal] in ‘myscore’ and know when they’re playing I can check on them. I also watch them too. (Arsenal are) a very dynamic side, in general not just in controlling possession but also in scoring goals.”

With the winger’s contract in Donetsk not expiring until 2026, Igor Jovicevic’s side will have plenty of power in any potential negotiations, while the £87.7m price tag could prove a huge stumbling block for the Gunners. The North London outfit will face competition from the likes of Manchester United, Man City and PSG in their pursuit of Mudryk so a bidding war is definitely something they will look to avoid.