Shakhtar 'serious' about rating Mudryk as more valuable than Antony

Shakhtar Donetsk believe Arsenal target Mykhailo Mudryk is already a better player than Manchester United's £82million man Antony.

The winger is the subject of strong interest from the English Premier League leaders, who have reportedly had a bid of £57m knocked back.

It has been claimed Arsenal have since raised that offer to £62million, yet that may not be high enough to tempt the Ukrainian champions to sell.

Shakhtar deputy sporting director Carlo Nicolini said: "On the premise that we don't have any need to transfer him, we said in due time that we value the player very highly, more so that other profiles like Antony. This is serious; the parameter."

Mudryk turns 22 on Friday and his potential sale is already turning into an early saga during the transfer window.

Arsenal may face stiff competition from Chelsea, who have also been linked with the Ukraine international, but a move to Serie A looks unlikely, with Italian Nicolini suggesting clubs from his homeland need to be more assertive when eyeing up young players.

"The problem is that Italian clubs don't seize opportunities," Nicolini said. "See Milan with Enzo Fernandez, who is now worth over €100million. When you get to a player on time you have to sink the shot, otherwise the prices change."

It appeared AC Milan were in a strong position to sign Fernandez from River Plate before he joined Benfica. Now Fernandez is a target of clubs including Liverpool and Chelsea, having played an important role in Argentina's World Cup triumph.

Nicolini told Calcio Napoli 24 TV that Napoli, the Serie A leaders, were in contact with Shakhtar about Mudryk at one stage.

"The Azzurri arrive before many competitors," said Nicolini. "They enquired about many players but without making an official proposal.

"They asked us not only about Mudryk, but also [Manor] Solomon, [Anatoliy] Trubin, [Heorhiy] Sudakov or even before that [Mykola] Matvienko or [Viktor] Kovalenko, who then went to Atalanta."