Arsenal are pushing to sign Mykhaylo Mudryk but are yet to meet Shakhtar Donetsk's £88million asking price. The Gunners are facing late competition from London rivals Chelsea but remain confident in securing a deal.
football.london understands that an initial £55million bid was rejected before an improved offer of £62million was submitted last week. Shakhtar are yet to make a final decision on Arsenal's second bid, but are adamant that Mudryk will only be sold if a club meets their huge valuation of the 22-year-old.
The Ukraine international has dropped plenty of hints on social media that he wants to move to the Emirates Stadium after posting images of him watching the Gunners' Premier League fixtures. Mudryk has publicly praised Mikel Arteta's tactics and his team in past interviews despite reports suggesting he may have had his head turned by Chelsea's late interest.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta has the 'perfect' scenario to help Arsenal accelerate Mykhaylo Mudryk transfer
football.london understands the Blues are closing in on signing Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix on-loan until the end of the season, which may hint that they have backed out of hijacking Arsenal's move for Mudryk. According to Italian outlet FootMercato, the Gunners have taken a huge step towards securing a 'full agreement' for the 22-year-old's signing.
The Kroenke family are said to have given the green light for sporting director Edu Gaspar to meet Shakhtar's transfer demands. The two clubs are still discussing bonuses, but are edging closer to an agreement on a transfer fee which could be around €100million (£88million).
Talks are set to continue throughout the week after Arteta highlighted the lack of squad depth in attack available to him as he started Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah in the FA Cup win against Oxford. Speaking after the victory, Arteta said: "The problem is that we have only one striker and to cope for that many months until Gabby [Gabriel Jesus] is back is not easy.
"But we have to get the most out of the players that we have at the moment. If we can have some reinforcements, great."
Arteta's comments may be a message to Arsenal's hierarchy to get a deal for Mudryk done ahead of the north London derby this weekend. The 22-year-old is set to travel Turkey with Shakhtar for a winter training camp, despite the Gunners seemingly finding a breakthrough in negotiations.
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