Arsenal have been faced with a new problem in their pursuit of Mykhaylo Mudryk after Chelsea stepped up their attempts to sign him.
What’s the story?
Well, there was tentative interest from the Blues around the time of Arsenal’s unsuccessful opening offer worth £55m – the Gunners have since increased that bid to £62m, according to the Evening Standard.
However, Chelsea are now ramping things up while Mikel Arteta waits to see if that £62m bid has worked.
According to The Sun, Darijo Srna – Sporting Director at Shakhtar Donetsk – is set to travel to London in the coming days for talks with Todd Boehly, as the American looks to provide Graham Potter with signings in a bid to turn around Chelsea’s poor form.
The west Londoners are already closing in on a remarkable £112m deal to sign Argentina international Enzo Fernandez, which would be a British record transfer.
From a financial aspect, it would seem Chelsea have no issues in meeting Shakhtar Donetsk’s £85m asking price given their willingness to pay Fernandez’s massive release clause.
Mudryk has received interest from Arsenal and Chelsea after a phenomenal start to the season, which has seen him score ten goals and provide eight assists in 18 appearances so far.
Arsenal have one advantage over Chelsea
While the Blues seem more willing to throw money at Mudryk, the Gunners appear to have captured the Ukraine international’s heart.
The 21-year-old regularly posts pictures of himself watching Arsenal games on his official Instagram account and has told Vlada Zinchenko – the wife of Oleksandr Zinchenko – that he would love to join the north Londoners.
Additionally, Mudryk has already agreed a five-year contract with Arsenal, and is simply waiting for Shakhtar Donetsk to agree a fee with the Gunners, according to The Sun.
However, talk of Chelsea stepping up their interest is not exactly good news, as The Sun believe their desire to sign Mudryk could cause the saga to drag on all month.
Be sure to keep an eye on this situation, as there have already been many twists and turns.
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