Chelsea will meet with Shakhtar Donetsk director Darijo Srna “in the next 24 hours” as they begin negotiations to sign Arsenal target Mykhaylo Mudryk, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.
The Italian reporter claims Srna will be at Chelsea’s match against Manchester City on Thursday night to discuss a potential deal for the Ukrainian international:
Shakhtar Donetsk director Darijo Srna will be in London this week and he’s expected at the stadium for Chelsea-Manchester City game 🔵🇺🇦 #CFC
Chelsea and Shakhtar will discuss about Mudryk in the next 24h – also Arsenal remain in direct talks and player’s current priority. #AFC pic.twitter.com/vdhjiHM0Fd
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 4, 2023
As Romano points out, Mudryk’s “priority” is still a move to the Emirates but this latest development will put pressure on the Gunners to wrap up negotiations.
They have already tabled two bids for the 21-year-old but they have both fallen short of the reported €100m (£88m) asking price.
It is not believed that Shakhtar are asking for the full amount upfront but Arsenal’s previous offer is said to have only reached €70m (£62m). That means there is still a sizeable gap to bridge.
With Chelsea now stepping up their attempts to secure Mudryk’s services themselves, it means the Gunners have a big decision to make on whether they accelerate talks and look to meet Shakhtar’s demands.
