The January transfer window does not open for nearly another eight weeks but with an entire World Cup set to be played before the end of the year, Arsenal are already getting their affairs in order and setting their sights on several targets.
The Gunners have been linked with a hefty list of top names across the footballing world and have seen their chances of signing Palmeiras midfielder Danilo boosted with the likelihood of acquiring Mykhaylo Mudryk in January taking a hit.
Mudryk, who has scored three goals in the Champions League with Shakhtar Donetsk, was outlined as a major target in the summer but a new update from Fabrizio Romano has suggested that despite positive talks on the side of the player, a move in January could also fall through.
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Romano said on his YouTube channel, via the Daily Mail: "They have had very positive contacts on Mudryk on the player's side, but then they decided not to proceed with Shakhtar because they wanted more than £40-£45million."
"Now Shakhtar want more than £60m-£65million. But Arsenal are still following the player. They consider Mudryk a top talent and so Arsenal are still there but let's see because now the race is open with many top clubs, but Arsenal will be busy in the next few weeks."
That busyness likely refers to the Gunners interest in bringing in a central midfielder with Danilo at the very top of the list but he is also joined there by Leicester's Youri Tielemans whose contract is set to expire in the summer of 2023.
Speaking about Tielemans on the House of Champions Podcast, via Football 365, Romano also revealed that the Belgian midfielder is '100%' not signing a new Foxes contract and football.london previously reported in the summer, that Arsenal were prepared to wait until Tielemans’ current contract expires to secure the 25-year-old on a free transfer.
However, while Leicester are aware that they will lose their box-to-box midfielder before the start of the 2023/24 season they are unlikely to be happy about losing him on a free and may seek to acquire a fee with Arsenal that would see him depart in January and former Arsenal defender Ray Parlour has urged the Gunners to do just that.
"January will be important for a lot of clubs, we all know how important that transfer window can be," Parlour said on talkSPORT via Metro. "There might be a bit of money there for Mikel Arteta to say, 'Right, we need another midfielder we need a Youri Tielemans', like when they tried to get him before."
Parlour has also made the suggestion that Arsenal should look to sign a striker in the mid-season window as well.
He said: "They need a backup striker in case Gabriel Jesus gets injured. I know they’ve got Eddie Nketiah but sometimes you need the extra striker who’s going to get you the goals to win the league."
Arsenal have been slightly more focused on players who identify as wingers but there has been some interest circulating around Lille forward Jonathan David.
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