Sought-after Shaktar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk says he 'couldn't' turn down the chance to move to Arsenal if the Gunners come knocking in January.
The north London club have been heavily linked with a move for the youngster, but they are far from his only suitors.
Recent reports said that Newcastle were ready to join the race for the 21-year-old, who has shone in the Champions League this season with two goals in two games.
Mudryk told CBS reporter Ben Jacobs that he “couldn’t say no” to Arsenal and that he's hoping to leave Shakhtar in January.
However, the list of clubs showing interest includes Newcastle, Sevilla, Bayer Leverkusen and Ajax.
The Ukrainian club have no intention of letting their young star go on the cheap, though, as sporting director Darijo Srna warned.
“Mudryk is a serious talent. After (Kylian) Mbappe & Vinicius Junior, he's the best player in Europe in his position,” Srna said.
“If someone wants to buy Mudryk they must spend a lot, a lot, a lot of money & respect our club."
Shakhtar are said to value the player at €50m (£44m), but that price could rise if a bidding war breaks out between clubs.
Mudryk burst onto the scene last season and has started the 2022/23 campaign in fine form.
The Ukraine international scored one goal and set up another two in Shakhtar’s impressive 4-1 win away to RB Leipzig in their opening Champions League game.
He followed that up by netting the equaliser to earn his side a 1-1 draw against Celtic last week.
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Arsenal were looking for a “mystery winger” to complete their squad, while a midfielder was also been touted.
After Nicolas Pepe left the Gunners for more minutes on loan at Nice, manager Mikel Arteta declared a desire to “add firepower”, though he could not guarantee a new player will come in. The Gunners still have interest in Pedro Neto, as well as a Ukrainian wonderkid.
Mohamed Elneny’s injury means that midfield is a little weak right now. FFT reported months ago that personal terms with Youri Tielemans were agreed, with the north Londoners just needing to agree a fee with Leicester: one obstacle remained on Deadline Day. In other news, Bukayo Saka has hinted that he’s close to extending his contract.
