Arsenal make £55m transfer bid for Shakhtar star Mudryk

• Bid around £40m up front and £15m in add-ons
• Mudryk expressed desire for January move
• Shakhtar expected to reject Arsenal's offer

WHAT'S HAPPENING? The Gunners have been admirers of the Shakhtar Donetsk winger for some time and have now tabled an offer, which is understood to total around £55 million including add-ons.

Shakhtar have publicly valued the 21-year-old at around £90m and are expected to reject the offer, but Arsenal are determined to land the Ukraine international during the January transfer window as they look to bolster their attacking options following Gabriel Jesus' injury.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Speaking ahead of Arsenal's Premier League meeting with West Ham on Boxing Day, coach Mikel Arteta spoke of his desire to get transfer business done early in the window.

“We knew the importance of getting players early in the summer and that is what we want to do in January," Arteta said. “This is idealistic but sometimes it is not realistic. Obviously, if you ask my opinion, as quick as possible we want the players in."

Mudryk, meanwhile, appeared to flirt with his suitors as he posted a video on Instagram on Monday evening showing that he was watching the Gunners' Premier League match against West Ham.

STORY IN THREE PHOTOS:

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THE VERDICT: Mudryk is Arsenal's priority target in January and this early bid shows they mean business. Clearly, they are still some way short of Shakhtar's very public valuation of Mudryk, but they will be very hopeful of getting a deal over the line in the coming weeks, with the player very keen to make the move to north London.

WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL? The Gunners take on West Ham on Monday night looking to go seven points clear at the top of the Premier League.