Arsenal start Mykhaylo Mudryk transfer talks but want Shakhtar Donetsk to lower £85m asking price over January move

ARSENAL have opened transfer talks with Mykhaylo Mudryk, according to reports.

But the Premier League leaders are hoping Shakhtar Donetsk lower their asking price.

The Gunners have prioritised a wide forward in the January transfer window to maintain their title charge.

And the Ukrainian star is their No1 priority.

According to the , negotiations are now underway over a deal early in the New Year.

But Shakhtar want around £85million for their 21-year-old star, citing Jack Grealish's £100m transfer as a relative benchmark.

However, Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal board are confident they will be willing to drop their demands.

Arsenal were first linked with Mudryk over the summer but were not prepared to pay the high fee and instead looked at landing Pedro Neto from Wolves.

However, a winger was still wanted in January - even before striker Gabriel Jesus' surgery.

And their hopes of landing Mudryk were boosted when he revealed his admiration for the North London club - and would choose Arsenal over Real Madrid.

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Mudryk told : "From a purely hypothetical perspective if there was the option of being a bench player for Real Madrid or a starter for Arsenal, I'd probably choose Arsenal.

"But it's a tough question and involves a lot of factors in my answer.

"I would first want to know from the head coach that even if I wasn't a guaranteed starter, that I'd receive a chance.

"Essentially I need to hear directly from the manager what he envisages my role in his side to be."

Arsenal, though, may face competition from Newcastle and Manchester United for the eight-cap star.

Mudryk has scored ten goals and added six assists in 18 games this season.

That includes five goal involvements in six Champions League games as Shakhtar finished third in the group behind Real Madrid and RB Leipzig to drop into the Europa League.