Chelsea have sought assurances that Mykhailo Mudryk wants to join them before joining Arsenal… but the Blues have also approached Leipzig’s Dani Olmo and France forward Marcus Thuram
Chelsea want certainty that Mykhaylo Mudryk wants to join them before entering an auction with Arsenal for the Shakhtar Donetsk winger.
Sportsmail reported on Friday that the Ukrainian prefers a move to the Emirates; if it comes down to a two-way choice between rivals in London.
The Gunners have been linked with Mudryk for some time and had initial bids of £52million and £62m rejected this week with Shakhtar valuing their 22-year-old superstar at around £88m.
Chelsea are looking for assurances that Mykhaylo Mudryk wants to join them this January
Graham Potter is also looking at Dani Olmo and Marcus Thuram to join him at Chelsea
But now it seems Chelsea want to know if he wants to join the club, before they engage in a bidding war with Arsenal for Murdryk.
Chelsea, who completed the signing of midfielder Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama on Friday, have also inquired about Spain’s RB Leipzig winger Dani Olmo and France forward Marcus Thuram, who are out of contract to Borussia Monchengladbach in the summer.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are reluctant to pay over the odds for him but believe they want the 22-year-old.
Arsenal are yet to sign but have had two bids for Mudryk rejected this week
Shakhtar are waiting for an offer around the £88m mark for their promising young winger
There is optimism that their improved bid of £62m could be accepted, but there is now concern that Chelsea could hijack the deal, especially considering Graham Potter’s mounting injury list with Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic are now all concerns.
Meanwhile, Mudryk, who after joining Shakhtar in 2018 returned 12 goals and 17 assists in 44 games, was very clear about his favorite destination, posting a photo on Instagram of him watching the game of Arsenal against West Ham on Boxing Day.
He also had his say on his potential future manager Mikel Arteta saying he and his former coach, Roberto De Zerbi, are both ‘top two coaches.’
Although it is still unclear whether he will join either side, Chelsea have been busy in the past week, signing defender Benoit Badiashile from Monaco, Ivorian striker David Datro Fofana and Brazilian youngster Andrey Santos.
