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."
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on
Mohamed Sherif scored late on as Al-Ittihad's winless run in the Saudi Pro League stretched to four games after a 1-1 draw with Al-Khaleej.
Al-Ittihad have endured a miserable title defence, and with just two games remaining, the highest the big-spending, PIF-backed club can finish is fourth.
Muhannad Al Shanqiti put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, yet despite having a further eight shots and accumulating 1.07 xG in the second half, Al-Ittihad could not add another.
Their profligacy proved costly in the 81st minute, with Egypt international Sherif snatching an equaliser for 11th-placed Al-Khaleej.
Al-Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-1 win over seventh-placed Al-Fateh, with Bernard Mensah scoring twice.
Al-Raed, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 win at Al-Wehda.
Data Debrief: Kante the creator?
On the day he received a surprising France recall, N'Golo Kante created three chances for Al-Ittihad, leading the team.
On the flip side, Kante only attempted one tackle, with the midfielder showing a different side to his game, not that it proved fruitful for his team.
Ronaldo motivated to keep playing at top level
Cristiano Ronaldo has no intention of stopping as he says he is still motivated to compete with the "young lions" coming through in the game.
Ronaldo is reportedly considering signing a contract extension to keep him at Al-Nassr until June 2026, taking him past his 41st birthday.
The Portugal international has scored 42 goals in 41 appearances for the Saudi Pro League club this season, and he insists he is still motivated to keep going.
Speaking on the Whoop podcast, he said: "I feel proud to have this age and still compete at the highest level. It's great, and it gives me motivation to carry on.
"If you look at my career for the last 20 years, my level is high. If you are top for 20 years, it's unbelievable.
"I do that, and I continue to do that. For me, it's a big achievement."
Ronaldo has scored an incredible 891 goals in his career and is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 128 goals.
"My biggest motivation is to carry on," he added. "It's not easy to be at this level.
"To still push, to still motivate, to carry on, to score goals, to be in good shape, to compete with the young lions that are coming and that when they play against me, they want to show me that they are stronger and faster than me.
"You have to prepare very well, not just physically but mentally, too. This is the challenge.
"Talent without work is nothing and work without talent is nothing. They have to work together at the same time. I have both. I can't say that I have more of one than the other.
"Small details will make the difference. Consistency is the most difficult thing.
"Are you willing to do that? That's the main point, because everyone wants to be Cristiano, but doing it is difficult. Discipline is the most difficult thing."
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