Arsenal take the lead over Chelsea in the race for 22-year-old winger

Chelsea face transfer headache as Arsenal close in on acquiring Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk

Chelsea, who were in the race to acquire Shakhtar Donetsk forward Mykhaylo Mudryk, will now have to reconsider their options if Arsenal conclude a deal for the 22-year-old.

The West Londoners’ pursuit of the teenager has taken an entirely new twist, but the Gunners are now genuine top contenders to bring the player to Emirates Stadium, as per Sport Arena (h/t Metro.uk).

Despite the fact that Arsenal made two bids to Shakhtar Donetsk for the 22-year-old, the first of which was £35.5 million plus £17.7 million in add-ons, both of which were rejected by the Ukrainian club. However, Arsenal have continued their negotiations for the player.

Arsenal are close to reaching a deal with Shakhtar, but there are a few payment issues to work out. And the player has already consented to personal terms with the Gunners and will likely sign a five-year new contract.

The player’s ambition to play for Arsenal has been firm since the club indicated interest in purchasing him. However, this is a huge setback for Chelsea, who were in a battle to buy the player but will now have to scramble for an alternative.

Obviously, acquiring Mudryk would have been a good acquisition for Chelsea, who were looking to add the youngster to their attacking line. The Blues, after all, have been less assertive when it comes to goals and would want a player who can provide an attacking spark up front.

And the 22-year-old’s 10 goals and eight assists in 18 appearances in all competitions underlined why Chelsea liked him. However, the projected addition of Joao Felix should make up for it, since the Portuguese is a productive player up front and Chelsea may be able to rely on him.

And he’s more than just goals and assists; his technical prowess and ability to control the threads in the game might be beneficial to Chelsea in the attacking third.

More Chelsea News:

• Chelsea are waiting to get the price to sign striker Borussia Monchengladbach Marcus Thuram
• Manchester United make first move to sign Chelsea target Joao Felix
• Chelsea will persist with Graham Potter even if he fails to deliver a top-four finish

Moreover, there is no point in saturating our forward line with players in just a few positions. We already have many attackers who can play in and around a No. 9. What we need is a natural centre-forward.

Although losing out to the Gunners after apparently chasing him for weeks would be a double blow for Chelsea fans. Nevertheless, there are more options in the market that we can look at and if we don’t sign Mudryk, it won’t be the end of the world.