Arsenal to register Mykhaylo Mudryk in Europa League squad if £40m January transfer is completed

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Arsenal's links to Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk ahead of the January transfer window could heat up even more following the Gabriel Jesus injury news.

Over the weekend football.london have learned that the £45m summer signing from Manchester City is set for a spell on the sidelines due to a knee problem that has ended his World Cup earlier than he would have hoped. Although, there are conflicting reports with regard to how long he will be unavailable.

As revealed by football.london, initially it was understood that Jesus could be back in action in January, missing a maximum of three Premier League games in the best-case scenario, but some reports suggest the Brazil international might be out for up to three months.

READ NEXT: Three players Arsenal could target to replace injured Gabriel Jesus in January transfer window

If it's indeed the latter, it may force Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu's hand as the pair could look to strengthen the first-team squad in January to ensure the side can maintain their Premier League title challenge and have a deep run in the Europa League as well as the FA Cup.

As expected, the transfer rumour mill has already gone into overdrive with a number of players being linked with moves to Emirates Stadium when the January window opens. Central midfield is an area where the club could look to improve amid interest in Leicester City's Youri Tielemans and Palmeiras' Danilo which dates all the way back to the summer.

Although, the prospect of a winger arriving at Arsenal to provide competition and cover for Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli shouldn't be ruled out as talk of a move for Mudryk refuses to go away, especially after his recent admission about being a fan of Arteta.

Now, in a potential boost for the north London outfit, Shakhtar appear to be open to selling the 21-year-old in the new year. In addition, it was reported by our friends at the Mirror last weekend that they have privately reduced their asking price significantly and are now willing to accept a deal closer to £40m rather than €100m (£87.6m).

Now, if Mudryk does sign for the Gunners at some point in the January transfer window, then he can be registered in the club's Europa League squad and he could even face the Ukrainian outfit in the competition as they've been drawn against Rennes in the knockout round play-off.

Despite the fact Mudryk featured for Shakhtar in the Champions League group phase, he would still be permitted to play for the Gunners from the round of 16 and onwards in the Europa League if he was to seal a big-money transfer in the upcoming January window.

This is because the ruling states: 'As of the round of 16, a club may register a maximum of three new eligible players for the remaining matches in the current competition. Such registration must be completed by 2 February 2023 (24.00CET) at the latest. This deadline cannot be extended.

'Any or all of the players from the above quota of three may have been fielded for another club in the qualifying phase, play-offs or group stage of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League or UEFA Europa Conference League.'

Of course, this scenario would not have been possible in the 2017/18 season - something which came back haunt the north London outfit after signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - as since the 2018/2019 campaign, the player registration restrictions in European competitions have been lifted, and it could benefit Arteta's side should they sign Mudryk.

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