Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergei Palkin has revealed that fresh talks are now live between his club and Arsenal over a transfer for winger Mykhaylo Mudryk. football.london understands the Gunners tabled an opening bid worth up to £55million on Boxing Day, but it was rejected.
Arsenal seem set to make a second bid in due course, hopeful of getting a deal over the line early in the window, with Mikel Arteta claiming his side will be "active" in the market. Mudryk himself has only added fuel to the fire surrounding a move, with various hints dropped on social media.
The latest was an Instagram story that showed him watching the Gunners' victory over West Ham on the same day that news broke of the bid for his services. When asked about the hint, Arteta was typically quiet about it, saying: "You know that I never speak about players who are not with us. I understand that you have to ask me the question... The good thing in England is that you don’t have many other matches in other countries at Christmas so hopefully a lot of people watched our game and we gave them a good show."
READ MORE: Man Utd 'block' Arsenal transfer for Mykhaylo Mudryk after £55m Shakhtar Donetsk bid rejected
With news that the bid has since been rejected, it was yet to be seen exactly how quick negotiations would be reopened to try and sort a new bid out. It appears as though that hasn't taken long though, with discussions reopening on Thursday morning.
That's because Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergei Palkin told club media: "Now, literally in five minutes, I will have a phone conversation with Arsenal. We are open to negotiations, ready to exchange ideas and figures. If we will agree, then let it be so.”
It remains to be seen whether there will be a settlement on the transfer fee or if the game of bidding wars continues deeper into the January transfer window.
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