Manchester United has already open talks to sign Ronaldo’s replacement in January – Arsenal are also interested but pulled out after £100m demand
Manchester United’s initial plan was for them to have a quiet January while concentrating all their efforts in order to continue their major rebuild next summer.
However, following Cristiano Ronaldo‘s incendiary interview with Piers Morgan where he attacked all aspects of the club right from the Glazers to the infrastructure and new manager Erik ten Hag, it looks unlikely that the Portuguese will be seen in a United shirt ever again.
And that means the club will be short of one elite goalscorer in the middle of a season where the club are struggling to score goals despite creating numerous chances.
United need a goalscorer
A lot of names have been linked with the Red Devils like Cody Gakpo, Joao Felix and new names are constantly being added to the list as well.
And one player who has joined that list is Shakhtar Donetsk star Mykhaylo Mudryk. The Peoples Person had already reported that the Reds have joined Arsenal in the race for the highly-rated Ukrainian.
According to The Athletic, the Ukraine outfit are aware of the interest their star asset is generating across Europe and they have now spoken about the price tag of the 21-year-old.
“Shakhtar Donetsk have warned suitors for young superstar Mykhaylo Mudryk that they value the winger at €100million following his exploits in the Champions League this season,” the article reads.
The reason for such an exorbitant fee is because the club feel that the winger has hit around 60 per cent of his full potential so far.
The club’s director of football Dario Srna said, “If somebody wants to buy Mudryk, they must pay huge, huge, huge money. Otherwise the president of the club (Rinat Akhmetov) will not sell him.
“All the clubs must respect the President, respect Shakhtar and in the end they must respect Mykhaylo Mudryk, who is one of the best players I saw. The price is so big.”
Mudryk’s steep asking price revealed
Srna also mentioned that he sees Mudryk as being only behind PSG’s Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr in terms of talent.
Another reason for the steep price is because of the current market. It has been inflated following big-money deals that United have partaken in for the likes of Jadon Sancho (£73m) last summer and Antony (£86m) this year.
Manchester City’s £100m deal for Jack Grealish in 2021 was also mentioned.
“The market is deciding the price — not me,” Srna countered. “Antony, Grealish, they are players of more than €100m and for me, Mudryk does not have less quality than them.
“This is the last two transfers in the past year, in more or less the same positions. Sancho from Borussia Dortmund. We want just respect. The market is deciding the price, not me, it shows which kind of players cost this kind of money.”
