Chelsea
have signed winger Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in a deal worth
£88.5m.
Mudryk previously indicated Premier League leaders Arsenal were his
preferred destination in a series of social media posts. Arsenal remained in
talks as recently as Friday but were prepared to walk away from the transfer
if the deal was not right.
But Chelsea agreed a deal with Shakhtar on Saturday night and the
22-year-old travelled to west London to complete a medical before signing a
eight-and-a-half-year deal.
"I'm so happy to sign for Chelsea," Mudryk said.
"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."
Todd Boehly, Chelsea chairman, and Behdad Eghbali, co-controlling owner,
said: "We are delighted to welcome Mykhailo to Chelsea. He's a hugely
exciting talent who we believe will be a terrific addition to our squad both
now and in the years to come. He will add further depth to our attack and we
know he'll get a very warm welcome to London."
Mudryk becomes Chelsea's fifth signing of the January transfer window,
following the arrivals of Joao Felix, Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana
and Andrey Santos.
Neville: Chelsea have gone 'all out' for
Mudryk
Gary Neville on Super Sunday:
"Chelsea have gone all out for him and Arsenal will be disappointed.
"I was at Arsenal's last Premier League against Newcastle, where they didn't
have a substitute to bring on, and obviously they have [Gabriel] Jesus
injured, so they need someone.
"They haven't given it the priority, Chelsea have nipped in, they have an
army of forwards and it's an ambitious project shall we say at Chelsea."
Selected incomings under Todd
Boehly
Marc Cucurella - Brighton, £60m
Raheem Sterling - Man City, £47.5m
Kalidou Koulibaly - Napoli, £33m
Carney Chukwuemeka - Aston Villa, £20m
Wesley Fofana - Leicester, £75m
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Barcelona, £10.3m
Denis Zakaria - Juventus, loan
Benoit Badiashile - Monaco, £35m
David Datro Fofana - Molde, undisclosed
Andrey Santos - Vasco da Gama, undisclosed
Joao Felix - Atletico Madrid, £9.7m loan
Mykhailo Mudryk - Shakhtar Donetsk, £88.5m
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Why Chelsea pounced to sign Mudryk
At the start of last season, he was an unknown outside of Ukraine with a
transfer value of under £1m. Now he is one of the most coveted young players
in Europe. Following an explosive rise, Mudryk looks destined for big
things.
The 22-year-old, who showcased his thrilling speed and one-on-one ability in
the Champions League group stage earlier this season, has been described by
Darijo Srna, Shakhtar Donetsk's director of football, as "the best player in
Europe in his position" after Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.
There may be a hint of exaggeration to that statement but Srna is not the
only one to hold Mudryk in high regard. His list of suitors is a long one
with Chelsea closing in on the race to sign him.
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