The lavish spending of Arsenal's Premier League rivals has had negative repercussions for Mikel Arteta in his pursuit of rising Ukrainian prospect Mykhailo Mudryk.
The Gunners failed with an opening £55million bid for Mudryk, 21, after Christmas as they search for a forward who can fill the void left by Gabriel Jesus. The Brazil striker, 25, is set for many months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a knee injury sustained at the World Cup in Qatar.
Shakhtar Donetsk prospect Mudryk would be a welcome addition to the Arsenal attack having burst onto the scene this season by scoring 11 goals in 19 appearances, including three in the Champions League. However, the north Londoners will need to pay top dollar to sign the eight-cap Ukraine winger after Shakhtar placed an enormous price tag on his head.
The Eastern European club have taken note of recent huge-money transfers elsewhere in the continent and will demand a similar sum to part ways with Mudryk, who has four years remaining on his contract. Shakhtar deputy sporting director Carlo Nicolini candidly discussed the growing interest in the youngster and drew comparisons to the transfers of Jack Grealish and Antony.
Grealish, 27, left boyhood club Aston Villa to sign for Manchester City in a British-record £100million transfer in August 2021. Antony, meanwhile, arrived in the Premier League the following summer as the 22-year-old joined Manchester United from Ajax for an initial £81m, rising to £86m with add-ons.
Nicolini claims Grealish and Antony are "no stronger" than Mudryk, therefore Shakhtar are entitled to a similar sum of money to allow an exit. "As we've always said, to deal with Mudryk, you need to make an important offer," Nicolini told calciomercatoit.
Would signing Mykhailo Mudryk for £85million be good business for Arsenal? Have your say in the comments!
"Arsenal may have made such an offer, but there is a negotiation. Players have been sold that clubs wanted to sell and that we believe are no stronger than Mudryk with a valuation of around €100million (£88m), so the €60m (£53m) is not enough.
"I'm not the one making the figure, I don't have particular indications from the company, but the sporting director said that we need an important offer closer to Grealish than to Antony. If the cash figure is €40m (£35m), then it's not even being taken into consideration."
Arsenal spent well over £100million in the summer on the likes of Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabio Vieira, so there is doubt over whether club chiefs will authorise a splurge on Mudryk in January. Should they decide not to, Arteta could persist with Eddie Nketiah as his starting centre-forward or he and sporting director Edu could target cheaper alternatives.
