Arsenal see £55m bid rejected for top January target but Edu will ‘return with a new bid’

Arsenal will go back in for Mykhaylo Mudryk after the Gunners saw their opening bid rejected by Shakhtar Donetsk, according to reports.

The Ukraine international has been linked with Arsenal for months now with the Gunners appearing to make him their priority target for the January transfer window.

Mudryk has caught the eye in the Champions League this season with three goals and two assists in six matches, adding to his five goals in ten Ukrainian Premier League fixtures.

There have been strong rumours that Arsenal will look to strengthen in midfield and in wide attacking areas with the Gunners seeing Mudryk as the perfect attacking addition.

When asked earlier this week if he would find it hard to turn down a move to Arsenal this winter, Mudryk replied: “Yes, from my side I can’t say no.”

And now the Evening Standard claim that Arsenal have had their ‘opening offer’ of £55m ‘rejected’ by Shakhtar Donetsk ‘but the Gunners are set to return with a new bid’.

Of the £55m offered, ‘part of that amount was due to be paid in add-ons’ and technical director Edu ‘remain in talks with Shakhtar Donetsk and are expected to return with a fresh offer for Mudryk’.

Shakhtar have already said that they want close to £85m for the winger but Arsenal are keen not to go that high and want to structure the deal in a way that can persuade the Ukrainians to take a lower price.

Last week, Shakhtar Donetsk sporting director Carlo Nicolini confirmed the Gunners’ interest in Mudryk ahead of the upcoming transfer window.

Nicolini said: “Today, Mudryk has been told, like all other players, to present himself for the training in Antalya on the 9th of January. There is interest from Arsenal, I cannot deny it.”

Speaking in November, Shakhtar director of football Dario Srna explained why the club valued Mudryk at such a high price.

He said: “If somebody wants to buy Mudryk, they must pay huge, huge, huge money. Otherwise the president of the club (Rinat Akhmetov) will not sell him. All the clubs must respect the President, respect Shakhtar and in the end they must respect Mykhaylo Mudryk, who is one of the best players I saw. The price is so big.”

Srna added: “The market is deciding the price — not me. Antony, [Jack] Grealish, they are players of more than €100m and for me, Mudryk does not have less quality than them.

“This is the last two transfers in the past year, in more or less the same positions. Sancho from Borussia Dortmund….