Arsenal would be ‘willing to pay’ £56m to sign Shakhtar Donetsk forward Mykhaylo Mudryk in January, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Mudryk wants to join

Premier League side Newcastle, with Sevilla, Ajax and Bayer Leverkusen, have all been credited with an interest in the 21-year-old, creating competition for the Gunners who are believed to have recently held talks.

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Igor Jovicevic’s side have now increased their asking price from €40-45m (£34-39m) to €60-65m (£52-56m), though this isn’t said to have put Edu off his target.

CBS’ Ben Jacobs also claimed that the winger told him that he ‘couldn’t say no’ to moving to the Emirates should he be given the opportunity.

The Latest: Jones’ comments

Asked by GiveMeSport whether Arsenal would be happy to pay the required fee to land Mudryk given how much financial demands are constantly increasing in football, Jones said:

“I think they would, yeah. And I think they know that they’ve got to.

“So, we think €65 million (£56m) is traditionally a lot of money in football, but it’s actually becoming a reasonable figure in the transfer market for the players with a high ceiling. And I think that that is an amount that Arsenal will be willing to pay.”

The Verdict: No-brainer

Mudryk has been dubbed the ‘Ukrainian Neymar’ by Jacek Kulig, and Mikel Arteta bringing him to England is a no-brainer given his impressive record in the final third.

The 5 foot 7 dynamo has registered 16 assists and scored ten goals in 41 appearances for Shakhtar, and is a versatile individual with the ability to operate in midfield as well as on both flanks (Transfermarkt).

Emile Smith-Rowe being sidelined with a long-term injury has highlighted Arsenal’s lack of options out wide so Mudryk would be a fantastic addition in the capital.