Shakhtar Donetsk chief rates Mykhaylo Mudryk chances of January transfer

Shakhtar Donetsk chief executive Sergei Palkin believes there is a 50-50 chance of Arsenal’s No.1 January transfer target Mykhaylo Mudryk moving clubs next month.

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The Gunners have been monitoring the Ukraine international for over a year and are hopeful of concluding a deal when the window reopens.

Arsenal invested heavily in their squad over the summer but Mikel Arteta was still left frustrated by the north London club’s failure to add more firepower having seen moves for Raphinha and Pedro Neto collapse.

The need to add more attacking options to a team that has launched an unlikely title challenge has been exacerbated by the injury which will rule Gabriel Jesus out for around three months.

Rather than replace the Brazil international, who underwent surgery last weekend, directly with another striker, Arsenal will press ahead with plans to sign a wide forward who can provide cover and competition for the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka.

Reports earlier this week claimed Arsenal were increasingly confident of landing the 21-year-old for significantly less than Shakhtar’s €100million valuation, but Palkin has warned Arsenal they are far from the only interested party.

He told The Atheltic: ‘To be honest, I do not know. At the moment, we are quite far from what we want and what clubs propose. It’s not so far but it is not what we need. We have discussions.

‘One club, another club, they negotiate. We are in the process. Will it close this month? I don’t know. It is maybe 50-50 with regards to the winter transfer window. I don’t want to talk about figures now.

‘We are in discussions. We have interest from some English clubs and we are in the process.

Asked if names such as Arsenal, Manchester City and Newcastle were leading the race, Palkin added: ‘Every day, I read about another English club.

‘If you believe the newspapers, it is all of (the English clubs). But to be honest, it is true as I have had contact from many clubs. A lot of them are involved in this process.’

Arsenal stepped up their preparations ahead of the Premier League resumption on Tuesday with a 2-1 win over AC Milan after which Arteta confirmed his club would be active in the market.

He said: ‘We are looking and we are active in the possibilities. If we can find the players that will strengthen the team, we will try.’

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