Mykhaylo Mudryk has completed his move to Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk after the Blues hijacked Arsenal’s attempts to sign the player.
Mudryk had been widely touted to join Arsenal over the last few months and the Gunners were reportedly locked in advanced talks with Shakhtar to get a deal done on Saturday afternoon.
However, Chelsea moved swiftly to hijack Arsenal’s proposed deal after sending a team of executives to thrash out terms with the Ukrainian giants.
Fabrizio Romano was one of several sources to claim that Chelsea have agreed to meet Shakhtar’s £88m asking price, with their offer including £62m up front with a further £26m in add-ons. While Arsenal’s offer was only marginally lower, Chelsea’s add-ons are believed to be far more achievable making their offer more attractive.
The Blues also offered Mudryk far higher wages so the forward flew in to London to finalise his move to Stamford Bridge. Romano says Mudryk completed his medical earlier today and the club have now announced on Chelseafc.com that the player has joined the club on a mega eight-and-a-half-year contract.
The 22-year-old has been pictured at Stamford Bridge this afternoon to watch the game against Crystal Palace, and the first images of him posing in his Chelsea shirt have now been released.
After completing his move, Mudryk told the Chelsea website that he’s ‘so happy’ to have joined the club and he’s excited to work under Graham Potter:
‘I’m so happy to sign for Chelsea. This is a huge club, in a fantastic league and it is a very attractive project for me at this stage of my career. I’m excited to meet my new team-mates and I’m looking forward to working and learning under Graham Potter and his staff.’
Our View
Arsenal have been linked with a move for Mudryk since last summer with the player also showing that he wanted to play under Mikel Arteta. Therefore, Chelsea hijacking of Arsenal’s deal for the ‘Ukrainian Neymar’ comes as a surprise.
The Gunners were in the driving seat to reach an agreement with Shakhtar but Chelsea came in an blew them out the water. The North Londoners have always maintained their stance of not wanting to enter into a potential bidding war with Chelsea or overpaying for Mudryk, so they decided to walk away.
Chelsea are looking to bolster their attack, having struggled in front of goal this season, scoring only 21 goals from their 18 outings in the league. Potter’s side are currently 10th in the league, 10 points off fourth-placed Newcastle United.
They have acted swiftly to sign Mudryk and he’ll be another exciting addition to their squad. Mudryk will increase the number of attacking options at Potters disposal and help them try and push for a top four place this season.
