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Manchester United are reportedly in a race with Arsenal to sign Shakhtar Donetsk forward Mykhaylo Mudryk in the near future.
Mudryk, 21, has emerged as one of the most exciting offensive talents in Europe this campaign with his electric performances on the left flank.
Earlier this summer, the Ukraine international was rumored to be joining Arsenal but the deal failed to materialize in time. He is also on the radar of Liverpool (via Calciomercato), PSG (via Le10Sport), Newcastle United, Sevilla, Ajax, and Bayer Leverkusen (via Ben Jacobs).
According to The Sun, Manchester United are the latest to join the race for Mudryk with the club dispatching scouts to monitor his development. Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag has been interested in the winger since his days as Ajax's head coach. However, Shakhtar Donetsk are expected to demand a steep fee for their prized asset.
Mudryk is currently set to relish some downtime during the mid-season break with no Ukraine at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He is valued in the region of £57 million, as per Fabrizio Romano.
Earlier in September, Mudryk dropped a hint about his future and clarified that he is focused on playing for Shakhtar Donetsk. He told CBS Sports:
"In the winter, we will see. There's been a lot of discussions about a transfer and speculation about which clubs want me. But it's normal. Right now, I'm in Shakhtar and I want to play in this team. I love this team, I love every guy in this team. Shakhtar is now my home."
Mudryk, who has a contract until December 2026, has netted eight goals and laid out as many assists in 16 overall games this campaign.
Rio Ferdinand urges Manchester United forwards to learn from Arsenal star
Speaking on his YouTube channel FIVE, Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand claimed that the underconfident Red Devils forward could draw inspiration from Arsenal star Bukayo Saka. He said:
"At the moment, we get in those positions and unfortunately for us, our wide players are turning away from that. They're not killing full-backs, they're not skinning them. Saka does it at the moment as well as anyone in the league, and he says, 'Right, I'm going to ghost you'."
Ferdinand lauded the Red Devils forwards' defensive efforts, but clarified that the players need to learn how to beat defenders. He said:
"At the moment, our wide players aren't doing that. Some parts of their game are working functionally – they're getting into a good shape, they are doing well defensively. But, it's when we have the ball and want them to do that little bit of cherry on the top stuff against the defenders, we aren't getting that now."
Manchester United have wide options in Antony, Jadon Sancho, Anthony Elanga, Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Pellistri in their squad.
Saka, on the other hand, has propelled Arsenal to the top of the 2022-23 Premier League standings with 37 points from 14 games so far.
