Shaktar Donetsk have set a €100million (£87.75m) price-tag on highly-rated winger Mykhaylo Mudryk as they look to fend off growing transfer interest, according to reports.
The winger has been unstoppable for Shaktar, having shone both domestically and in the Champions League, and has quickly become one of the hottest young prospects in Europe.
With a number of top clubs monitoring the 21-year-old’s situation, the club have revealed his lucrative price-tag and insisted that ‘the market is deciding the price’.
According to The Athletic, Shaktar have told clubs that they will need to cough up nearly £90m if they want to secure the services of the highly-touted winger.
Shaktar’s director of football, Dario Srna, said: ‘If somebody wants to buy Mudryk, they must pay huge, huge, huge money. Otherwise the president of the club (Rinat Akhmetov) will not sell him.
‘The market is deciding the price — not me. Antony, [Jack] Grealish, they are players of more than €100m and for me, Mudryk does not have less quality than them.
‘This is the last two transfers in the past year, in more or less the same positions. [Jadon] Sancho from Borussia Dortmund. We want just respect.’
Premier League clubs Arsenal, Man City, Newcastle, Brentford and Everton have all been closely following his situation. French giants PSG have also kept tabs on the wide-man.
The club’s chief executive Sergei Palkin re-iterated the Ukrainian club’s stance and insisted that the player will develop far beyond his current level.
Palkin said: ‘Mudryk is a talent in a process. What he is showing today, it’s just 60 per cent of what he can do in the future.
‘And when you multiply this, you realize that he costs much, much more. Therefore, I we believe that in the future he can cost definitely around €100 million.’
The 21-year-old has been scintillating this year, with 11 goals contributions in 10 league games and five contributions from his six Champions League matches.
However, some fans – especially Arsenal supporters – will be encouraged by recent quotes from Mudryk that detail his desire to one day play in England’s top-flight.
Talking to CBS, Mudryk said: ‘I think every player dreams about the Premier League.
‘It’s hard to say [which team he’d like to join] but Arsenal is a very good team, very good coach, I like the way they play.’
When asked whether he would like to make a move to the Emirates, he added: ‘From my side, I can’t say no [to Arsenal]. But the transfer is not only my decision.’