Newcastle United appear to have found themselves in a battle to land Shakhtar Donetsk sensation, Mykhaylo Mudryk, with the Ukrainian international also believed to be attracting interest from Premier League rivals Arsenal.
The latest suggestion is that the Gunners have made a bid for the 21-year-old ahead of the January transfer window, although it would appear that offer has fallen short of the player’s reported £85m price tag.
That may well have left the door open for the Magpies to pounce and get ahead in the race for the youngster’s signature, with reports last week having claimed that the northeast side are ready to go toe-to-toe with the north Londoners, after PIF gave the ‘green light’ to spend next month.
The hope will be that sporting director Dan Ashworth can use his powers of persuasion to get a deal over the line, with the high-flying outfit seemingly seeking that extra sprinkling of quality to further bolster their hopes of securing Champions League qualification.
The addition of the young Mudryk could well help to take Eddie Howe’s side to “another level” – according to pundit Tam McManus – with the fleet-footed sensation seemingly the “calibre of player Newcastle should be going for.”
The wing wizard has sparkled for his current club to date both domestically and in Europe, with the “unreal” talent – as lauded by journalist Jack Collins – having scored ten goals and registered eight assists in just 18 games across all fronts this term.
That impressive tally includes a tally of five goal contributions from his six Champions League group stage outings, with the highly-coveted “baller” – as described by journalist Sacha Pisani – appearing to thrive on the big occasion.
Such clinical and devastating form has ensured that the emerging talent now boasts an overall tally of 12 goals and 17 assists in just 44 games in all competitions for his current side, having enjoyed a fine entrance to life at senior level.
The explosive asset has also notably been lauded by The Athletic’s Nick Miller, with the respected journalist writing earlier this week that: ‘At this stage of his career, he’s still a little unrefined but is essentially an agent of chaos, raw and incredibly talented, someone you can drop in the middle of most defences and cause panic.’
That glowing assessment will likely have set pulses racing at St James’ Park, with Newcastle supporters likely to love the chance to see such a direct and dynamic figure pull on the black and white jersey in the near future.
The indications are that should Ashworth manage to secure an agreement sooner rather than later it could well only help in the quest for a top-four finish, with Mudryk potentially set to allow Howe and co to kick on even further.
Source - www.footballfancast.com