Fabrizio Romano reveals exact fee as Arsenal fight off Chelsea and submit second bid for Mykhaylo Mudryk

Fabrizio Romano has provided all the details on the second Arsenal bid for Mykhaylo Mudryk, with Mikel Arteta’s side fighting off Chelsea for the winger.

Arsenal are deep in talks with Shakhtar Donetsk over Mudryk’s prospective move. They initially hoped to sign him for €40million (£35.3m) plus €20m (£17.6m) in add-ons, but this fell well below Shakhtar’s asking price.

Shakhtar vice director Carlo Nicolini said: “We’re not even considering a bid with €40m as [a] fixed fee.”

The Ukrainian side want closer to £80m for their prized asset. And they have told Arsenal chiefs to look at similar deals, such as Jack Grealish’s £100m switch to Manchester City, when considering a follow-up bid for Mudryk.

However, Arsenal are refusing to spend anywhere near £100m, despite the attacker being their main January transfer target.

On Monday, it emerged the Gunners had come forward with their second proposal for Mudryk. And Romano has now revealed exactly how much it is worth.

He states Arsenal have sent Shakhtar a new offer worth €50m (£44.2m) plus bonuses. Presumably, the add-ons will be substantial to get near to Shakhtar’s hefty demands.

Ben Jacobs of CBS Sports states Arsenal will need to pay €55m plus €15m (around £62m in total) to capture Mudryk. Given the fact they have improved their offer, and their previous add-ons were so large, it looks like Arsenal have almost matched the £62m package required to seal the deal.

Chelsea eye Mykhaylo Mudryk – but Arsenal firmly favourites

Romano says Chelsea are ready and waiting to snap Mudryk up, should his Arsenal transfer fall through. However, Arsenal are in pole position to get the deal over the line and remain in ‘direct contact’ with Shakhtar.

Plus, Mudryk would prefer to join Arsenal over Chelsea. Arteta’s side have always been his priority as he likes their style of play and is good friends with Ukraine team-mate Oleksandr Zinchenko, who currently plays at the Emirates.

Arsenal have already sorted out personal terms with the 21-year-old. This means they should be able to organise a contract quickly once they come to an agreement with Shakhtar.

While Mudryk is close to becoming Arsenal’s marquee signing for the January window, it is unclear whether he will go straight into the starting eleven.

After all, Arteta can already use Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli in wide areas.

Shakhtar believe Mudryk to be one of the best wingers in Europe, behind only Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior on the left flank.

But Arsenal coaches will have some slight reservations, given the fact Mudryk has never played in a top-five European league.

Due to this, he will probably begin life at Arsenal on the bench. Arteta will gradually get him used to the speed of the English game through substitute appearances.

It will then be up to Mudryk to forge his own destiny. He will have to be very effective to get into the side ahead of Martinelli. But Mudryk will believe he has the ability to do this, while Arteta will relish in the competition for places.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are keeping tabs on the development of a rising Montpellier attacker, according to reports.