Why Gunners are targeting £80m ‘Ukrainian Neymar’
WITH 134 caps for Croatia, six appearances at major tournaments and a house full of trophies, Shakhtar Donetsk sporting director Darijo Srna has been around the block.
He was one of the best right backs in Europe for more than a decade, so is well placed to critique left wingers. After retiring in 2019, Srna is in a suit these days and thinks Shakhtar’s jewel in the crown — the explosive Mykhailo Mudryk — is as good as it gets out wide. ‘After Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, he’s the best player in Europe in his position,’ Srna said recently.
High praise indeed and, although surely a negotiation ploy to extract the highest fee, it is also an opinion shared in many Premier League boardrooms.
Not least at Arsenal, who have had a bid for Mudryk rejected ahead of the January window as they look to bolster their attack for a title charge. The Gunners are expected to return with an improved offer packed with incentives. Shakhtar are thought to value Mudryk, who turns 22 next week, at more than £80million — a significant outlay on a raw talent who has only made 66 professional appearances.
His rise has happened as fast as one of his darts down the touchline and some wondered whether it would ever come.
As a youngster, there were rumblings of a difficult attitude to manage, yet rapid development under Roberto
De Zerbi, before the manager joined Brighton, and a continuation under his successor has put Mudryk on the radar of every sporting director in the top five leagues. Brentford were interested last summer but a breathtaking ascent since — 10 goals and eight assists — has seen his asking price double. Although an inverted winger, he can play off either foot and is a throwback in the way his direct running opens games up. Celtic found that to their cost in the Champions League group stage. Mudryk (left) scored in both draws, burning Josip Juranovic, who is no slouch, for pace and blasting past Joe Hart in the first. His equaliser at Parkhead a month later, which ultimately knocked Celtic out of Europe altogether, was the product of a fearfulness of his pace. Mudryk picked it up on halfway, driving at a back-pedalling defence. Unsure whether to engage, they watched him thrash the ball into the top corner, having carried it 30 yards. Brentford’s Aaron Hickey would show them how it is done between those games, reducing Mudryk to the periphery with poise and perfect positioning as Scotland beat Ukraine in the Nations League at Hampden. There will be occasions like that night when Mudryk does not dazzle and that is to be expected. But there is a wonder and mystique to a talent they call the Ukrainian Neymar, an unscripted nature that will be shaped on the biggest stage. If Arsenal do prise him away, Mikel Arteta’s options on the left, with Gabriel Martinelli as well, would be enviable. Mudryk has spoken about moving more centrally as he grows older and pointed to how Cristiano Ronaldo converted into a striker.
Neymar himself suffered the indignity of being sent off for diving on his return for Paris Saint-Germain last night. The Brazilian was shown two yellow cards in as many minutes against Strasbourg, the second for diving.