Arsenal want Mykhaylo Mudryk but face paying an ever-growing fee after Shakhtar Donetsk rejected a €30million offer from Everton.
The Gunners allow big-money misfit Nicolas Pepe to leave in August, sanctioning a late loan move back to France with Nice.
Edu looked into signing another winger to support Bukayo Saka but the window closed without a new addition, meaning there are higher expectations on Marquinhos now.
Marquinhos may end Arsenal’s need for another winger, especially after scoring against Zurich last week.
Yet if Arsenal do go for another option, there is one name that stands above all others right now.
Arsenal want Mykhaylo Mudryk
Before the summer transfer deadline, Fabrizio Romano reported that Arsenal were ‘asking for information’ about a late deal for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mkyhaylo Mudryk.
No deal was done in the end but Arsenal may wish they had struck there and then.
Mudryk, 21, is becoming one of the top young talents in Europe having dazzled in the Champions League.
An assist and two goals in last week’s 4-1 thrashing of RB Leipzig were far from a fluke.
Mudryk added to his tally with a goal against Celtic on Wednesday night, racing clear of the Bhoys defence with his blistering pace.
Mudryk is surely attracting plenty of interest from across Europe now and Arsenal just have to hope that they haven’t missed their opportunity.
Shakhtar sporting director Darijo Srna has now told CBS Sports that Shakhtar did reject a late bid from the Premier League for Mudryk.
It wasn’t Arsenal though; no, it was Everton!
Srna claims the Toffees offered €30million (£26million) for Mudryk but Shakhtar stood firm and rejected the offer.
Srna added that if Shakhtar are rejecting €30million offers, it’s a message to everybody that they want to really progress in the Champions League.
Qualification for the knockout stages isn’t out of the question after four points from their first two Champions League group stage games.
Srna called Mudryk a ‘serious talent’, putting him in the same bracket as Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.
The Croatian believes any deal for Mudryk will now cost ‘a lot, a lot, a lot’ of money, meaning Arsenal will have to dig deep after Mudryk admitted he couldn’t say no to the Gunners.
“We received an offer of €30 million [from Everton]. And when our president doesn’t sell a player for €30million, especially in such difficult times, he is sending a message to everyone that he wants to progress in the Champions League and to win the championship,” said Srna.
“Mudryk is a serious talent. After Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr, he’s the best player in Europe in his position. If someone wants to buy Mudryk they must spend a lot, a lot, a lot of money and respect our club and our president,” he added.
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