Twenty-one-year-old Ukrainian sensation Mykhaylo Mudryk could make a move to the English top-flight in the near future, Shakhtar Donetsk executive Carlo Nicolini has confirmed in his recent media appearance. However, the player’s new price tag could be a little bit too much, even for the Premier League giants.
Mudryk has been making headlines for quite some time now. The speedy Ukraine international winger burst onto the scene in the 2021-22 season, which saw him score two goals and provide nine assists in 19 games across all tournaments, including UEFA Champions League. Just four of his 11 Ukrainian Premier League appearances were from the bench.
Resultantly, the player has attracted interest from numerous top-flight European clubs. In the summer of 2022, Italian giants Juventus and AC Milan were determined to sign Mudryk, as were Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen. The German club subsequently emerged as favourites to capture his signature, but the transfer didn’t materialise due to economic issues. As various sources reported in August 2021, the 2001-02 UEFA Champions League runners-up were unable to afford his transfer fee of ‘over 20 million euros’.
Fifteen months on, Leverkusen fans could end up kicking themselves that the club officials haven’t been persistent enough in their approach towards Mudryk. Latest reports indicate that the player is now the subject of interest from numerous European clubs, including Premier League table-toppers Arsenal and defending champions Manchester City. Shakhtar Donetsk executive Carlo Nicolini confirmed the same in his recent interview with Italian media outlet Calciomercato.
„All eyes are on him these days. The Italians have joined the race too late, I must admit. They could have started doing it earlier. Their bids are unconvincing, so we aren’t ready to negotiate. Many English clubs want to sign him. What’s more, clubs from Spain and France are also interested, but now they need to offer a certain amount of money to convince us to let him go.
Along with [Kylian] Mbappè, [Rafael] Leão and Vinicius, he is the strongest player in his position. Do Arsenal and Manchester City fighting for his signature? Those are the two teams interested in him, but there are other clubs that could reach for him,” he was quoted as saying by ua-football.com.
Moreover, Nicolini shed light on how much the 13-time Ukrainian champions demand for Mudryk as things stand.
„Would 40 million euros be enough for us to let him go? No, we are no longer talking about figures like that. Even 50 million is not enough at this point, though. When such a bid comes up, we don’t even call the president to discuss the potential move. We value Mudryk higher than Antony of Manchester United, who cost 100 million euros,” he remarked.
Mudryk has scored seven goals and notched seven assists across all tournaments this season. Igor Jovicevic’s men currently sit second in the Ukrainian Premier League standings and still stand a chance of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stage.
