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 (€64.5m) knocked back.
It has been claimed Arsenal have since raised that offer to £62million (€70.2m), 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 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."
Billy Dodds proud of his Caley Thistle side despite final setback
Inverness manager Billy Dodds was proud of his players after their Hampden efforts against treble-winning Celtic.
Caley Thistle restricted the champions to few chances before Kyogo Furuhashi swept home a 38th-minute winner in the Scottish Cup final.
Half-time sub Liel Abada doubled Celtic’s lead but Inverness fought back through Dan MacKay before Jota sealed a 3-1 win in stoppage-time.
“Everything a losing manager feels, you are disappointed, but proud at the same time.
“There’ s a massive gulf between the teams but I thought we asked them questions at certain times, I really did.
“We lost goals at bad times, because i was trying to get to half-time, had a plan in my head, then we lost a goal when I was going to make an attacking substitution.
“I love working with this group and after being idle for five weeks or so, I thought they put on a hell of a performance.
“I am absolutely thrilled by the way they dug in and what they gave me in terms of effort and determination.”
Dodds added: “Every manager talks about character and all that we have and we certainly did to come back into the game.
“Wallace Duffy whips in a great ball and it’s a brilliant finish from Dan MacKay.”
Paris Saint-Germain 2-3 Clermont: Messi and Ramos denied winning send-off as visitors fight back
Paris Saint-Germain failed to muster a winning send-off for Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos as they ended the Ligue 1 season by squandering a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss against Clermont.
Early goals for the Spaniard and Kylian Mbappe put the champions on top at Parc des Princes, before Johan Gastien, Mehdi Zeffane and Grejohn Kyei completed a stirring comeback from the visitors.
It was a damp last note for ex-LaLiga heroes Messi and Ramos, who leave Paris as two-time league champions but without having won supporters' hearts – with Messi booed ahead of kick-off.
Likewise, it may prove a dour final chapter for coach Christophe Galtier, who is widely tipped to depart despite leading PSG to a record 11th league title.
PSG, who wore shirts adorned with the name of injured team-mate Sergio Rico in the first half, needed VAR to rescue them after Kyei prodded home an early finish.
The hosts promptly seized control, with Ramos netting a farewell header from Vitinha's delivery before Mbappe doubled their lead with an excellent penalty following Alidu Seidu's foul on Achraf Hakimi.
Clermont refused to fold though, with Gastien capitalising on Marco Verratti's mistake to halve the arrears and Zeffane bundling in a leveller either side of Kyei putting a spot-kick wide in a thrilling first half.
Messi, who misfired on his farewell, spurned a chance to finish Mbappe's square ball after the restart before Kyei nosed the visitors in front with a close-range finish.
PSG continued to toil for an equaliser in the closing stages and Messi almost stole a point in the final minute of injury time, only for goalkeeper Mory Diaw to stop his direct free-kick with an acrobatic save.
Callum McGregor hopes Ange Postecoglou sticks with Celtic
Skipper Callum McGregor believes Ange Postecoglou will leave Celtic on the highest of highs if Tottenham’s reported interest in the Hoops boss comes to fruition.
The Parkhead club clinched an eighth domestic treble – a world record – with a 3-1 Scottish Cup final win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden Park.
Afterwards, Postecoglou refused to commit himself to Celtic for next season and McGregor was asked about the former Australia manager’s accomplishment of the clean sweep in Scotland which brings another entry into the Champions League next season, amid strong speculation about his future.
McGregor, who has now won the treble five times with the Parkhead club, said: “That’s what he always wants to speak about, how well he can build the group, how successful you can be, how together you can be.”
The Hoops captain, who said his personal haul of medals “is something I am proud of, you want to be a winner” added: “We hope he stays and we hope to see him in pre-season.
“In football you never know but if that is a parting gift then what a way to go.
“Of course (we hope he stays). You deliver that much success at the club in such a short space of time.
“You turn things around, you look at the togetherness of the group, it is fantastic and that starts from him.
“That is the message he sets every day so of course we understand he will be linked with big jobs which he has been but selfishly, as players and as a club, we want to keep him as long as we can.”
Asked if he was braced for Postecoglou’s departure, McGregor said: “We don’t know.
“In football there is always speculation, there is always people being linked and that is a good thing.
“It shows you are doing a good job, it shows the players have done a good job for him and he has done a great job for the club so it is always nice to have that compliment and in football you just never know.
“We celebrate tonight, we have had a brilliant season and we will see what happens.
“In football you deal with whatever comes your way, you have to be flexible, you have to work around these things and as I said selfishly we want to keep him. Hopefully we have him for pre-season.”
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