Chelsea ‘could hijack Arsenal’s transfer move for Mykhailo Mudryk’ with Shakhtar holding out for £85m for attacker

CHELSEA are reportedly contemplating hijacking Arsenal’s move for Mykhailo Mudryk.

The Gunners tabled a £55million bid for the Ukrainian winger earlier this week but saw their opening offer rejected by Shakhtar Donetsk.

REUTERSArsenal had a £55million bid for Mykhailo Mudryk rejected but are still pursuing the Shakhtar ace[/caption]

GETTYBut Chelsea are also interested in signing the Ukrainian winger[/caption]

A second bid is being mulled over by the north Londoners, who could face competition for his services from the Blues.

That’s according to The Guardian, who claim Graham Potter has added the 21-year-old to his transfer list and is “interested” in bringing him to Stamford Bridge in January.

They will, however, have to stump up a whopping £85million to prise him from Shakhtar’s clutches.

Arsenal are still ahead of their London rivals in the pursuit of Mudryk as talks are still ongoing.

Shakhtar CEO Sergei Palkin said: “Negotiations are continuing.

“We receive offers, but they are not the ones we would like to see on our table.

“Now, literally in 5 minutes, I will have a phone conversation with Arsenal.

“We are open to negotiations, ready to exchange ideas and figures.

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“If we will agree, then let it be so. If we will not, then let it be another time.”

Potter was appointed as Thomas Tuchel’s successor in September and has yet to have a transfer window to make his impact at the club.

The former Brighton chief is keen to bring in reinforcements next month but admits it’ll be difficult to do so.

He said: “I would say the January window isn’t so straightforward to find solutions.

“From my perspective, the autumn fixture list was an extreme period.

GETTYChelsea boss Graham Potter is eager to bring in reinforcements in January[/caption]

“And I would not want to make too many drastic assessments [on players] based on that extreme period.

“The team, as I see it, hasn’t functioned as maximally as I would have liked – and I think that it can do.

“I would say the job of the head coach is to focus on the players that are here and make them better.

“There’s room for improvement there for sure.”

Chelsea will be back in action on New Year’s Day, travelling to the City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest.