Shakhtar director Srna meets Eduardo and Willian in London as he arrives for Mudryk talks

The pursuit of Mykhailo Mudryk is hotting up as Shakhtar Donetsk director Darijo Srna was pictured getting coffee with Eduardo and Willian in London.

Ukrainian side Shakhtar are expected to reject Arsenal's improved bid for star winger Mudryk as they look to utilise Chelsea's interest to their advantage.

Talks are taking place with Chelsea over the next 24 hours with Shakhtar chief executive Sergei Palkin and Srna both in London - and Srna set tongues wagging as he grabbed coffee with former Arsenal striker Eduardo and ex-Chelsea winger Willian - as fans wonder whether the meeting will affect where the wonderkid will end up.

Srna, a club stalwart, however has family in London and Brazilian-born pair Eduardo and Willian are both former team-mates of his at the Ukrainian giants, which could explain their meeting. He is set to be at Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea face Manchester City in west London on Thursday evening.

Arsenal made an improved offer of £45million rising to £62m for Mudryk, who has maintained he wishes to join Arsenal - but Shakhtar have said they want closer to, if not more than, £85m and Chelsea's presence in talks could push offers closer to that figure.

Mudryk is Gunners boss Mikel Arteta's main target this month and Arsenal have made two bids for the Ukraine winger, 22. The first, believed to be worth around £52m, was turned down by Shakhtar, who publicly value Mudryk at around £88m.

Arsenal returned with an improved offer, understood to be worth up to £62m, and there was optimism that a deal would be agreed in this transfer window.

But they could now face competition from Chelsea, who are understood to be exploring a possible move for Mudryk. It is believed they would be more likely to splash out on Mudryk if their potentially £100m-plus move for Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez falls through.

Sources in Ukraine told Sportsmail that, with CEO Palkin now talking to both clubs, Shakhtar are likely to turn down Arsenal's improved offer as it remains 'far away' from their £88m target.

Srna, Shakhtar's director of football, is in England for talks in the coming days. The Croatian visits London fairly regularly, Sportsmail understands, because his family live in the English capital.

Chelsea are not believed to have tabled their own bid for Mudryk, as things stand, but their interest could force his price up. That is despite the winger making clear his desire to join Arsenal.

Shakhtar see Jack Grealish's £100m move to Manchester CIty and Antony's £85m transfer to Man United as a barometer for any fee for Mudryk, who was described as a potential Ballon d'Or winner by his former manager Roberto De Zerbi.