Shakhtar Donetsk director confirms Arsenal’s interest in Mykhaylo Mudryk – but no bids yet

Arsenal’s interest in Ukrainian winger Mykhaylo Mudryk has been confirmed by Shakhtar Donetsk director Carlo Nicolini, but the club are yet to make an official offer for the 21-year-old.

The Gunners have a long-standing interest in Mudryk but they opted against making a move in the summer as other Premier League clubs lurked. The likes of Everton and Brentford were keen on signing the then £30m-rated Mudryk, but the Ukrainian remained at Shakhtar for the start of the 2022/23 season.

His value has since soared off the back of an impressive Champions League group stage campaign that saw him notch five goal contributions in six games.

Despite his recent upsurge in price, Arsenal have made signing Mudryk a priority in January as they attempt to maintain their title challenge during the second half of the season.

Shakhtar Donetsk director confirms Arsenal’s interest in Mykhaylo Mudryk – but no bids yet

Arsenal’s interest in the winger was confirmed by Shakhtar director Nicolini, who told Calciomercato.it (via football365): “Today, Mudryk has been told, like all other players, to present himself for the training in Antalya on the 9th of January. There is interest from Arsenal, I cannot deny it.”

Nicolini added that Shakhtar are yet to receive any “official offers” but he hinted that the Gunners have an advantage in the race for the winger due to their financial superiority.

“In my opinion, Italian teams have not enough economic strength for a player like this,” he said. “The Italians bring low proposals, we don’t even sit to negotiate

“There are many English candidates, Spanish, French. They [Arsenal and Manchester City] are two teams that have taken an interest in the player.”

Manchester City’s reported interest might concern the club, but Arsenal are said to be confident in their pursuit of Mudryk. The Gunners are desperate to sign the 21-year-old this winter, but Shakhtar won’t roll over and let them take him off their hands without a fight. Despite Mudryk’s plea, the Ukrainian club don’t want to sell their most prized asset in January and they could wait until the summer to part ways with the winger.