Ukrainian side won’t part with Douglas Costa cheaply.
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Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have been faced with a huge barrier to the signing of Brazilian attacking midfielder Douglas Costa, with the Express reporting that Shakhtar Donetsk will not part with the player for less than £40 million.
Both North London rivals had been linked with a move for Costa, potentially taking advantage of the volatile political situation in Donetsk that has reportedly unsettled a number of the club’s foreign talents, including Costa.
Club official Sergei Palkin, however, made it clear that this would not be the case:
“Everyone says that Costa’s goodbye is close, but the club has not received any proposals and his buyout clause is €50million.”
Whether this leaves the potential deals dead in the water remains to be seen, but paying such a significant sum would be a huge leap of faith for a player yet to prove himself in one of the major European leagues.
Costa has been a fine performer for Shakhtar since signing from Gremio in 2011, and has consistently been linked with moves to bigger leagues, although his club’s reluctance to sanction a deal continues to mean that he plays in the Ukrainian league.
With Arsenal already having spent a huge fee on Barcelona winger Alexis Sanchez this summer, it is perhaps unlikely that the Frenchman would want to splash out so lavishly on another attacking midfield player.