Saturday, 6th July, 2013
The transfer saga surrounding Henrikh Mkhitaryan could be set for yet another twist as, in contrast to reports in Germany, Shakhtar Donetsk general director Sergei Palkin has declared the Ukrainian champions not happy with Borussia Dortmund’s bid for the midfielder.
Mkhitaryan had seemed to be heading to Liverpool for much of the summer, with a deal at one point thought to be just days from completion. The Reds appeared ready to pay the $30m dollars needed for the Armenian to terminate his contract with Shakhtar Donetsk, and Mkhitaryan was keen to land at Anfield.
However, other suitors, including Borussia Dortmund, were lying in wait. And when Liverpool began to stall on the deal, the Bundesliga giants moved in for the kill.
Yesterday, Dortmund sent CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke and sporting director Michael Zorc to the Ukraine, and it was widely reported in Germany that they had secured an agreement on a fee of €25m to buy Mkhitaryan from Shakhtar Donetsk.
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But Palkin, who has confirmed the meeting, has a different version of events, claiming the sum on the table to be not good enough.
"Mkhitaryan? I have not talked to him", Palkin was quoted as saying by Football UA.
"Borussia offers us €25m for Mkhitaryan. For us, this amount is not enough and we are talking with the German club."
However, the Shakhtar Donetsk transfer supremo is confident that an agreement can be reached.
"It is quite possible that in the near future we will sort out something."
But on the question of whether Mkhitaryan himself has already agreed personal terms with Dortmund, Palkin cannot say.
"I don’t know [whether Mkhitaryan has agreed personal terms]. As for Henrikh, I have not spoken to his agent and these sorts of questions need to be addressed from the player’s side."
While it does still seem that Mkhitaryan is on the verge of joining Dortmund, there is now a small amount of doubt about the deal and the door is slightly ajar for another club to try and hijack the transfer at the last minute.
Whether that will happen remains to be seen though, with Palkin still confident an agreement will be reached with last season’s Champions League finalists.
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