Mykhaylo Mudryk: Chelsea reportedly close to hijacking £88 million deal for Arsenal target

Chelsea are reportedly trying to snatch Mykhaylo Mudryk from the clutches of Arsenal.

Reports on Saturday have claimed Chelsea officials have travelled to Poland in a desperate attempt to hijack Arsenal's proposed January move for top target Mykhaylo Mudryk.

 The Blues have been linked with a move for Mudryk over the course of this month, although the 22-year-old winger has been widely expected to join Arsenal over the last few weeks.

Arsenal have also reportedly agreed personal terms with Mudryk and have been in advanced negotiations with Shakhtar Donetsk over a transfer fee, which is believed to be in the region of £62million, over the last few weeks.

 However, it now seems as though Chelsea look to overtake their London rivals in the race for his signing.

 Acclaimed transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, also reported on Saturday, Mudryk could fly to London tonight to seal the deal, as Chelsea presented a much higher offer than Arsenal’s (bid), after senior board members at Chelsea jetted out to Poland in order to try and reach a verbal agreement with Shakhtar. 

The Blues are reportedly willing to trump Arsenal's bid with an offer in the region of £80m, which would represent a significant increase on the fee tabled by their North London rivals. 

According to Fabrizio, Mudryk's position on the matter will prove to be crucial, although the Ukraine international winger has repeatedly expressed a desire to join Arsenal in recent interviews and on social media.

 It remains to be seen whether a big-money proposal from Chelsea will be able to turn change his mind or if he will decide to hold out for a move to the Emirates Stadium by snubbing the Blues' advances.

Mudryk is a 22-year-old winger who was born in Krasnohrad, Ukraine. 

He began playing football at the age of nine with Metalist Kharkiv, before moving to fellow Ukrainian side Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

 He stayed with Dnipro for two years before making a big move to his current club Shakhtar Donetsk back in 2016. 

Mudryk progressed through the youth ranks and had brief loan spells elsewhere, before finally breaking into the first team in 2021 and cementing his place as a starter. 

Nicknamed 'the Ukranian Messi', Mudryk is known for his pace and dribbling as well as his decisiveness in the box, netting 10 times and creating two assists in 25 appearances in all competitions this season.