If we're 10m away in our valuations and each day get 50% closer to agreeing than what we were the day before, when will we reach an agreement?

Acceptable figure although elephant in the room...what would he have cost if we'd just gone for him last summer...? Potentially a moot point though if we feel he's benefitted more from his experience at Shahktar in that time,.

QuincyAbeyie That's how I often putt in golf.

Who wouldn't be?

To be fair my source isn’t that reliable

Your source is you isn't it?

Bit of an old article, but this is basically a stats man pouring cold water on Mudryk's likely Premier League trajectory. His conclusion: this is a 50–50 Pépé type situation waiting to happen.

https://www.cannonstats.com/p/is-mykhaylo-mudryk-a-mistake-waiting

Burnwinter This ignores the only real thing that matters, imo. Both Pepe and Mudryk have the talent and physical profile to make it anywhere, that much I'm quite sure of. It's who they are and what they're capable of when it comes to stress, adapting to new circumstances (on the pitch and off it), willingness to work hard to improve, stay humble and commit to a project, and stay fit that tips it one way or the other. Just below that, I'd say they also have to get lucky with the people around them, and whether or not they fit into the environment, which may or may not be their fault.

The conclusion of that article is basically the same conclusion you'd make for any prospective transfer - i.e. it might not work out.

Fair point. I don't think Cannon Stats really skimp on those aspects there, after all the piece inserts that Athletic graphic with all those "intangible" reasons for a transfer not to work out.

The interesting part is the dot point section that starts:

Good goal production, but maybe some air in the numbers with 5 non-penalty goals from 2.7 expected goals. He is also putting nearly 70% of his shots on target right now which is something that will probably not persist.

As for the rest, you can forgive some rawness given Mudryk's only 21, but the idea of this transfer depends on him developing a fair bit under our tutelage. And his baseline pace and technique seem solid.

Don’t worry about all that guff Burnsy. Key difference is Mudryk will have been hand picked by Tet. He doesn’t miss.

Burnwinter

There is obviously a risk, even more so for me with players whose main attributes is dribbling as I tend to find if they cant replicate what they have been doing when its time to step up, their game is more likely to fail... hard to tell how big an issue it could be until he is here and you see what his mentality is like..

I have come round to him a lot more in the last few weeks watching the footage out there... his game is a lot more well rounded than I thought, good vision/passing range.. my other concern regarding end product, he looks to have improved this season on that as well.

Still don't think its worth the crazy money being mention (90-100m) but looks like it is in a more reasonable range now and I also reckon he will be another one that might take some time to settle but if it 'clicks' for him, we will have some player on our hand.

Ultimately agree with Dula too, Arteta/Edu have generally been great with quality of signing and more importantly what the team actually needs.

Pepe didn't fail because of his play style, he failed because he lacked the intensity, burst and assured touch. Even then he wasn't dreadful, but those details meant he was never going to be the success his price tag demanded.

Any transfer can end up not working out but what makes me more confident is that Mudryk being specifically recruited for his skill set into a stable environment where the manager knows what he's trying to achieve. His role in the team will be clearly defined and it's pretty simple too.

Kel Varnsen Anyone with eyes and some understanding of football can see that Mudryk is a much more talented player than Pepe was when we signed him (particularly close control and awareness of surroundings).

Have to agree there. I was all aboard the Pepe hype train that summer when it looked like we were anout to sign him hvaing just seen his numbers and hearing the hype about his dribbling and goalscoring capabilities. After going and watching some of his touch videos (for that matter even in the highlight comps), it was clear to me that his dribbling seemed chaotic and not what I could say is someone who will leave you from a standing start, rathe rsomeone needed to be running at speed with space to really do damage.

The one place he really showed me up was his shooting. His non penalty goals in France all seemed scuffed efforts or ones a good keeper would easily save but here he was deadly.

In any case, Mudryk looks the real deal. Hope we can finalise this sooner rather than later.

Yeah, I think I raised his dodgy bobbling touch before we signed him too.

goon think you did. I kept hoping I was seeing things wrong, or maybe watching the wrong comps that didn't show his full abilities, such was the level of hype he had brought with him from on OMITT and in the real world.