Arsenal have been dealt a potential transfer setback to their chances of securing a move for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk.
According to a recent report from i News, fellow Premier League club Newcastle United are considering making a £50m bid for the winger, who has previously been linked with a move to the Gunners. Indeed, it was recently revealed that the player would find it difficult to turn down a move to the Emirates Stadium if Arsenal were to come calling for him in January.
In 31 senior appearances for Shakhtar, the 21-year-old has scored four goals and provided 12 assists along the way.
Despite not scoring any goals and only providing one assist in his three league games so far this season, the attacker has been making a name for himself on the European stage. In two Champions League matches against RB Leipzig and Celtic, Mudryk has found the net twice and supplied two assists.
In fact, only Joao Cancelo (four) has made more live-ball passes which have led to a goal in the Champions League than the Shakhtar gem (two), who has been described as a “top talent” by Fabrizio Romano.
This highlights the attacking talent that the youngster has and shows why teams like Arsenal and Newcastle are or have been reportedly keen on signing him.
His overall performances across those two European games have earned the winger an overall rating of 7.58/10 from WhoScored, making him the highest-rated Shakhtar player in the Champions League.
Bearing in mind how mega-rich Newcastle have signed players for large sums of money, such as Bruno Guimaraes, Alexander Isak and Sven Botman, seeing them potentially make a move for Mudryk should have Mikel Arteta worried that he may miss out on signing the Ukraine international.
With all that in mind, the Gunners should use their European presence and the player’s public admiration for the club to their advantage and do all that they can to land him once the January transfer window opens.
