Arsenal must pay a fee ´closer to Grealish than for Antony´ to sign Shakhtar Donetsk star Mudryk

Arsenal must pay close to £100million (€113.2m) to sign Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk, according to the club’s vice director Carlo Nicolini.

The Ukraine international has garnered interest from Europe’s top clubs following his impressive Champions League displays, recording three goals and two assists in six appearances.

Mudryk is also Shakhtar’s top scorer in the Ukrainian Premier League this season with seven goals, while no player in the league has registered more assists (seven).

Premier League leaders Arsenal have reportedly had an initial bid rejected for the 21-year-old, who recently stated he was a fan of head coach Mikel Arteta’s style of play and followed their results.

Nicolini confirmed negotiations with the Gunners were ongoing, but suggested they would require an offer close to triple figures to complete the deal.

That would potentially mean breaking the record fee for a transfer involving a player moving to a Premier League club, which was set when Jack Grealish left Aston Villa for Manchester City in 2021 (£100million).

It would also be the most expensive such transfer this season after Antony’s £82million-move (€95m) to Manchester United from Ajax.

“I confirm that Arsenal is one of the most active teams,” Nicolini told Calcio Mercato. “When there is an interested company, we ask: ‘Make a proposal and when we have it in hand we start to negotiate.’

“As we have always said, to deal with Mudryk, you need an important offer. Arsenal may have made such an offer, but there is negotiation.

“Players were sold that the clubs wanted to sell and that we consider no stronger than Mudryk with a valuation of around £100million, so we consider no less than £60million.

“I am not the one to make the figure, I have no particular indications from the company, but the director has said that we need an important offer closer to Grealish than for Antony. If the cash figure is £40million, it is not even taken into account.”