Friday, January 13, 2023 at 00:06• Jeroen van Poppel • Last update: 00:14

In the run-up to the North London Derby against Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal have excellent papers for the recruitment of Mykhaylo Mudryk, Fabrizio Romano reports. The Gunners raise the offer for the 22-year-old left winger to almost seventy million euros (excluding bonuses) and thus come close to Shakhtar Donetsk’s wishes. A transition is now very real, Romano knows.

It has now been two and a half weeks since Arsenal started the hunt for Mudryk with a first bid. That was significantly lower than the current offer: initially the Londoners offered a fixed sum of forty million euros, on top of which twenty million euros could be added in bonuses. Shakhtar immediately indicated that the offer was far below the asking price. The Ukrainian top club has long maintained that Mudryk is worth more than Antony, for which Manchester United transferred a hundred million euros to Ajax.

In the meantime, both parties have come closer to each other. According to Romano, Shakhtar is almost in agreement with the fixed sum of seventy million euros that Arsenal offers. Negotiations are currently continuing on the variable package that will be added to it. These are the last creases that need to be ironed out, because Arsenal is already in the main with Mudryk himself. “No problems in terms of personal conditions, Mudryk wants the transfer,” Romano described.

Mudryk cemented his status as a top talent this season in the Champions League group stage, scoring three goals and two assists in six appearances. In the Ukrainian league, Mudryk already scored seven times in twelve appearances this football season and prepared another six goals. His contract with Shakhtar runs until mid-2026. At Arsenal, the eight-time Ukrainian international will initially compete with Gabriel Martinelli, who has become the undisputed number one as left front under Mikel Arteta. On Sunday, the Premier League leader will visit arch-rival Tottenham, who are fifth a block away.