Mykhaylo Mudryk’s move to Arsenal is widely accepted in the Shakhtar Donetsk dressing room with Anatoliy Trubin saying the winger’s team-mates tease the player over signing for the Gunners.
Arsenal had an offer of £30million for the Ukrainian sensation rejected last summer but they’ve retained their interest ever since.
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Mudryk has caught the attention of Europe’s elite over the last 18 months and he’s expected to finally leave Donetsk in the next two transfer windows.
Though his price tag has increased in recent months, Arsenal remain the frontrunners as Mikel Arteta looks to add depth to his current attack.
And the winger’s move to the Emirates appears to be somewhat of a formality according to one of his team-mates.
Goalkeeper Trublin says a transfer move to Arsenal is widely spoken about in the dressing room, with Mudryk’s team-mates saying he’s ‘already’ with the Gunners.
‘I like that he is focused only on himself, his and the team’s game,’ Trubin said. ‘Fans don’t really see that much. No one sees what he is doing away from the football field.
‘All these transfer rumours affect him only in a positive way, because he enjoys what he does. And, in the team, we can tell him; ‘well, you’re already at Arsenal, let’s all go!’
But Shakhtar director Carlo Nicolini has warned interested clubs that Mudryk will not come cheap.
The Italian says the 21-year-old winger will cost more than the £85m Manchester United paid for Ajax winger Antony last summer.
‘The headlights are on him, but I say that the Italians always come later,’ Nicolini told Calciomercato.
‘Now it is easy to observe him, but it was possible to do it before. The Italians bring low proposals, we don’t even sit down to negotiate.
‘There are many English candidates, there is the Spanish on duty, the French on duty, but now it takes the right amount to take him away. Together with [Kylian] Mbappe, [Rafael] Leao and Vinicius [Junior], Mudryk is the strongest player in that position.
‘Oscillating between Arsenal and Manchester City? They are two teams that have taken an interest in the player. But there are also other clubs that can spend right away. Is €40m [£34.7m] enough to buy him? We do not speak to these figures.
‘Not even for €50m [£43.3m], we don’t even call the president to communicate the offer. We value Mudryk more than Antony of Manchester United, who cost €100m [£86.7m]. We are not obliged to sell, we do not want to make phenomena.’
