Arsenal continue to be in touch with Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk, who has emerged as their January target.
As per Caught Offside, Arsenal remain in contention to seal a move for Mykhaylo Mudryk next month but an official bid is yet to be lodged with the Ukrainian outfit.
The Gunners are certainly in need of some attacking reinforcements as Mikel Arteta’s side has been handed a severe jolt by Gabriel Jesus’ knee injury. The Brazilian forward had to undergo an operation and will be in the treatment room for a longer period as it stands.
Arsenal have maintained a healthy distance from Manchester City in the title race but that gap could be bridged if they don’t work on bettering their existing squad depth. There hasn’t been a scarcity of goal scorers but going forward they would have to rely on someone who has the skill set to get them the necessary results in adverse conditions.
Brentford were interested in the pacey winger and a figure of €25 million was suggested to be the quoted price back in the summer. But since then his value has soared and the Ukraine giants are mulling a price closer to the €100 million bracket.
But Shakhtar will be willing to listen to the offers and could be selling the player for a much lower amount. Eminent journalist Fabrizio Romano believes Arsenal are still considering a move for the player.
“I can reveal that Arsenal are considering a new signing because of the Gabriel Jesus injury being more serious than initially expected. However, Folarin Balogun is expected to continue his loan season at Reims, as things stand.
“The Mykhaylo Mudryk situation is still the same: Arsenal are in contact with people close to the deal and they love the player, but there’s no official bid to Shakhtar yet.
“If he joins, it would be interesting to see if he could be deployed as a direct replacement for Jesus, or if Arteta would move Gabriel Martinelli into the middle. Either way, it would be a good problem to have!”
Funds won’t be a problem as Arsenal kept a sizable chunk of their transfer kitty for a potential forward as they were also linked with Barcelona winger Raphinha. Jesus’ injury might accelerate the pursuit and Mudryk could be one of the many arrivals in the next month.
