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Arsenal’s second £62m Mykhaylo Mudryk offer to be REJECTED, with Chelsea now offering competition… and Shakhtar Donetsk sees £100m offers from Jack Grealish and £85m from Antony as benchmark for fee
- Arsenal continue to look for a move for Shakhtar Donetsk star Mykhaylo Mudryk.
- The Ukrainian club will reject a second improved offer from the Gunners
- Arsenal initially offered £52m for Mudryk and have since returned with a £62m offer.
- It is also now understood that Chelsea are rivaling Arsenal in a move for Mudryk.
Shakhtar Donetsk are expected to reject Arsenal’s improved offer for Mykhaylo Mudryk as Chelsea threaten to thwart the Gunners’ move for the Ukrainian winger.
Negotiations are ongoing between Shakhtar and Arsenal and their Premier League rivals over a January transfer.
Mudryk is Mikel Arteta’s main target this month and Arsenal have made two offers for the Ukrainian winger, who turns 22 tomorrow.
Shakhtar Donetsk expected to reject Arsenal’s improved offer for Mykhaylo Mudryk
The former, believed to be worth around £52m, was rejected by Shakhtar, who publicly valued Mudryk at around £88m.
Arsenal returned with an improved offer, understood to be worth up to £62m, and there was optimism that a deal would be struck in this transfer window. But now they could face competition from Chelsea, who are believed to be exploring a possible move for Mudryk.
Sources in Ukraine have told Sportsmail that, with CEO Sergei Palkin now speaking to both clubs, Shakhtar is likely to reject Arsenal’s improved offer as it remains “far” from its €100m target.
Shakhtar are believed to value Mudryk at around €100m (£88m) and Chelsea are also interested.
Shakhtar sees Jack Grealish’s £100m transfer to Manchester City and Antony’s £85m transfer to Manchester United as a barometer of any fee for Mudryk, who has shined so far this season.
Darijo Srna, Shakhtar’s director of football, is said to be in England for talks in the coming days. The Croatian visits London quite regularly, Sportsmail understands, because his family lives in the city.
Chelsea are not believed to have made their own offer for Mudryk as it stands, but their interest could drive up his price. This despite the fact that the winger made clear his desire to join Arsenal.
Shakhtar see the move of Jack Grealish to Manchester City and the transfer of Antony to Manchester United as a barometer of any fee for Mudryk, who was described last week as a potential Ballon d’Or winner by his former manager Roberto De Zerbi.