Arsenal receive brutal warning over valuation of top attacking target, as Jack Grealish unexpectedly enters conversation
Shakhtar Donetsk director Darijo Srna has issued Arsenal a clear message over how high they will have to go to sign Mykhaylo Mudryk.
Mudryk has become one of Arsenal’s main targets ahead of the January transfer window. He has been showing his potential with Shakhtar Donetsk, including in the Champions League. So far this season, the winger has scored 10 goals and added eight assists from 18 appearances.
About to turn 22 in January, he has a bright future ahead of him. Arsenal would like to be part of that future, having kept tabs on the Ukraine international since at least the summer.
Currently top of the Premier League, Arsenal know they might need to spend in January to sustain their momentum. The fact that main striker Gabriel Jesus is currently injured may also prompt them to go into the market.
With that in mind, there has been a great deal of speculation about their pursuit of Mudryk. Their confidence has seemingly been growing in recent weeks that they can get a deal over the line.
However, Arsenal have now been pushed back a step in the transfer race after an admission by Shakhtar director – and club legend – Srna.
As shared by Fabrizio Romano, the former Croatia international told Marca: “Who wants to sign Mudryk has to pay big amount of money — otherwise our president will not sell him.
“Jack Grealish was sold for more than 100m and Mudryk’s level is not lower.”
Shakhtar using strong negotiating tactics for Mudryk
Citing Grealish is an interesting move from Srna. The attacking midfielder left boyhood club Aston Villa for Manchester City in the summer of 2021 after the Premier League champions activated his £100million release clause.
Things haven’t fully gone to plan for Grealish since then. Therefore, it would be easy for Srna to point to him as an example that could bump up Mudryk’s value.
In truth, he should be comparing the Aston Villa version of Grealish to Mudryk if this is about transfer values. It would be tough to judge the difference, but even then, Mudryk has Champions League experience already, which Grealish never had before joining Manchester City.
Hence, Srna will be using every trick he can to get the best deal possible for Shakhtar if they have to sell Mudryk.
For now, he remains under contract until the end of December 2026. Shakhtar are making it clear they won’t let him leave before then except in the case of a gigantic bid from elsewhere.
In fact, Arsenal might have to break their transfer record if Shakhtar are serious about using Grealish’s transfer as a measuring stick.
Mudryk remains a major desire for the Gunners, but they will have to be smart in how they go about convincing Shakhtar to sell.
