Arsenal make £52 million offer for Shakhtar Donetsk forward Mykhailo Mudryk – Paper Round

Arsenal make Mudryk offer

Arsenal have made a bid of £52.2 million for Shakhtar Donetsk forward Mykhailo Mudryk, reports The Sun. The 21-year-old Ukrainian international has impressed on the international stage for his side and Mikel Arteta hopes to strengthen his team in January. There is also an interest in Pedro Neto of Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Paper Round’s view: Shakhtar, like most businesses in Ukraine, will have been hit hard by the war in the country following Russia’s invasion, and would have been open to selling at even the best of times. A bid of around £50m would have to be considered and it would allow the club to ensure their survival at a time when others are struggling.

Ten Hag wants De Gea stay

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has asked his club to keep David de Gea at Old Trafford. The 32-year-old Spanish goalkeeper has performed well in most matches so far this season, but the Mirror claims he will have to take a pay cut of around £100,000 on his £375,000-a-week wages, though the club can extend his current deal by a year.

Paper Round’s view: After a few iffy years at Old Trafford, including a poor start to the current season, it would be fair to say that United might not get value from keeping De Gea’s wages so high. Similarly, the ‘keeper may also find that other clubs will not be willing to offer such enormous wages either, especially the top clubs who will want someone better with the ball at their feet.

Chelsea hope to renew Mount deal

Chelsea are hoping to get midfielder Mason Mount to sign a new deal at Stamford Bridge. The 23-year-old has 18 months left on his current deal, and so could soon leave on a free transfer. While Chelsea hope to get him to sign fresh terms, the Telegraph says that they are looking at replacements such as Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini and Villarreal’s Yeremy Pino.

Paper Round’s view: Chelsea are rarely slow to spend money or to act in the market, and both Pino and Pellegrini would be decent signings for their midfield. However Mount is in the form of his life and popular with fans, so the club has two good reasons to make sure that they can keep hold of Mount for future seasons.

Klopp want Firmino stay

Roberto Firmino can enter talks with another club in January and will be free to leave for nothing in the summer, with his current deal set to expire at the end of the season. The Mail reports that Jurgen Klopp hopes to tie the 31-year-old down to fresh terms, with no indication that they want to let the Brazilian leave despite his advancing years.

Paper Round’s view: Firmino has been one of Liverpool’s players of the decade, and with his form still holding up, and Darwin Nunez yet to hit the heights expected of him by many, retaining the experienced forward would make sense. However there may not be the money to convince him to stay if FSG are hoping to make a sale to a new owner.