- 6 hours ago
Mudryk Arsenal transfer under threat because of Gabriel Jesus injury
Robin Bairner
- 8 Dec 2022 08:35 GMT
- 3 min read
Arsenal’s plans for the January transfer window are being hastily reworked in the wake of an injury to striker Gabriel Jesus – and that means that a planned move for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhailo Mudryk could be shelved.
Mikel Arteta’s side have been linked with a potential swoop for Mudryk, dubbed the ‘Ukrainian Neymar’ for weeks, but their hopes of landing the 21-year-old have taken a blow because of the Brazil international having to undergo knee surgery.
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Gabriel Jesus has not been given a strict timeline for when he is expected to return back to action, but it is believed that his present injury could see him sidelined for around three months. This would mean that he could be expected to return to first-team action in the middle of March.
With only Eddie Nketiah a natural centre-forward in their ranks, Arsenal will be forced to look for a solution. Gabriel Martinelli has been lipped to move into a more central role, but the Gunners may also be forced to switch around their January transfer priorities.
What should Arsenal's January transfer priority be?
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) December 8, 2022
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Striker or Mudryk?
The upshot of this is that Arsenal could be forced to focus their January efforts on signing a striker to help bolster their Premier League title charge, with the Emirates club sitting top of the table at the World Cup break.
And the player who could consequently suffer is Mudryk.
Shakhtar Donetsk have been hoping to land a huge fee for the winger, although talk of a fee above €100m earlier this season was always liable to be fanciful.
Nevertheless, the latest reports suggest that the Ukrainian side are hoping to land around €46m for the player.
Arsenal are expected to have a January transfer budget of around €50m, which means that they will probably only be able to land one major star – and with Gabriel Jesus out for the medium term, that may mean sacrificing Mudryk.
