Mykhaylo Mudryk remains a Shakhtar Donetsk player. How long for remains to be seen following a reported breakthrough for Arsenal with regard to a January transfer.
As reported by football.london over the festive period, the Gunners saw their opening bid of £55million - including add-ons - rejected, with the Ukrainian club holding out for a fee in the region of €100m (£88m) as they cited Antony to Manchester United and Jack Grealish to Manchester City as examples.
And it would appear that Arsenal are willing to make Mudryk their record signing - eclipsing the £72m fee spent on Nicolas Pepe almost four summers ago - with recent reports claiming they have taken a huge step towards reaching an agreement with Shakhtar Donetsk.
READ MORE: Arsenal's third confirmed January transfer could be imminent as surprise squad absence explored
According to FootMercato, Gunners sporting director Edu Gaspar has received the green light from Stan and Josh Kroenke to meet the winger's asking price. Furthermore, the report states that whilst the two clubs are still discussing bonuses, they are edging closer to an agreement on a transfer fee.
Whilst Mudryk waits for the green light to complete what would be a dream move to Arsenal, he is in Turkey with his teammates as part of Shakhtar Donetsk's 10-day training camp as they gear up for the second half of the season which kicks off against Rennes in a UEFA Europa League play-off knockout tie next month.
Already the 22-year-old has been spotted in conversation with Shakhtar sporting director Darijo Srna - which in turn has led to some Gunners supporters theorising on social media that they were discussing his future at the club following reports of a major development.
Meanwhile, the club uploaded a video clip titled 'The first training session in 2023 | Training camp in Turkey has begun' to YouTube and, as expected, Mudryk featured prominently. In truth, from the footage there wasn't much to write home about as the winger took part in the session as usual, beginning with doing some weights before moving outside for some drills that included working with the ball as well as testing out his speed and agility.
Should the north London outfit manage to sign Mudryk before the January transfer window slams shut at the end of the month, in the view of Srna, they will be getting a player in the same bracket as Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior and Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe.
"Mudryk is a serious talent," Srna told CBS Sports, via Goal. "After Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, he’s the best player in Europe in his position. If someone wants to buy Mudryk they must spend a lot of money and respect our club and president."
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