Transfer Talk: Twist in Mudryk saga leaves Gunners feeling Blue

Chelsea are set to hijack London rivals Arsenal’s move for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk.

The Gunners have been chasing the 21-year-old Ukrainian for months, with their latest offer of £62million still falling well short of his current club’s asking price.

Shakhtar are holding out for a deal worth closer to £80m and with no resolution appearing imminent, the Blues look poised to enter the race.

According to The Sun, Chelsea officials want to meet with Shakhtar’s sporting director Darijo Srna when he travels to London later this week for negotiations.

Blues owner Todd Boehly has shown himself more than willing to splash the cash and is desperate to back his manager Graham Potter, who has struggled since replacing Thomas Tuchel in September.

Mudryk has netted has 10 goals and eight assists in 18 appearances across all competitions this season, with his impressive exploits in the Champions League gaining him plenty of admirers.

The youngster has his heart set on a move to the Premier League leaders, having even posted pictures of himself watching Arsenal games on social media recently.

Personal terms on a five-year deal have reportedly been agreed but if talks over a fee continue to stall, the wonderkid looks likely to end up elsewhere.

In other news

Metro report that Xavi has told Memphis Depay he has an important role to play at Barcelona amid transfer interest from Manchester United.

Brentford are close to completing the signing of Kevin Schade, 21, from Bundesliga outfit Freiburg for a fee of £22m, according to The Times.

Tottenham will hold talks with representatives from Portuguese side Sporting today regarding a double swoop for Pedro Porro and their former academy product Marcus Edwards, say the Daily Mail.