Chelsea star Mykhailo Mudryk has struggled in English football. Now, his time could be up, with the Blues ready to get rid of him this January.
The winger was seen as a huge statement of intent at Stamford Bridge when he joined in the winter transfer window of 2023. Mudryk was expected to sign for Arsenal until Chelsea swooped in to gazump the deal, paying a record for a Ukrainian player.
Mudryk joined the club on an eight-and-a-half-year contract for an initial transfer fee of €70 million (£62m), potentially rising to €100m (£89m) in add-ons, according to Shakhtar Donetsk's official site, who rather unusually, revealed the fee in full, following the sale. In the year-and-a-half since, however, the 23-year-old hasn't adapted to English football.
Mudryk has scored just five league goals in 48 appearances over three seasons and four managers. There were concerns, however, prior to his move to London that having made just 65 senior club appearances as a professional, he may need a long adaptation period – but he hasn't been given consistent minutes in English football.
Now, Bayern Munich and Marseille are said to be prepared to pounce. Spanish outlet Fichajes notes the interest of both Champions League winners.
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Arsenal have also been linked extensively with Mudryk ever since he joined Chelsea. The Gunners were in for the Ukrainian before his eventual switch to their rivals, with one concerning report coming out later claiming that he “cried” when he signed for the Blues instead of the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta's side may still be interested in taking Mudryk off Chelsea's hands and therefore can't be discounted from the race for his signature. Given that they've already taken Raheem Sterling on loan from the Blues, however, FourFourTwo thinks it's unlikely that their interest in Mudryk is particularly strong at this stage.
In FourFourTwo's opinion, the best thing for Mudryk would be to go on loan to get game-time at another club. The length of his contract suggests that a permanent exit would be almost impossible unless Chelsea are willing to take a titanic loss on him – though cutting their losses can't be ruled out at this stage.
Mudryk is clearly a confidence player but has looked shot of it almost since the start of his Blues career. He performed well on his debut against Liverpool off the bench but has barely looked the same player since – and all the upheaval hasn't helped his case. Now, with the likes of Pedro Neto, Jadon Sancho and Joao Felix all fighting for his spot in the team, it seems unlikely that he gets the arm around him that he seems like he needs.
TEAMtalk have followed the report with sources claiming that an exit is “very possible”, not exactly revealing much more about the situation. They also claim that Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile and Ben Chilwell are likely to be axed this January.
The links to Bayern are intriguing given how many wide options they already have in their squad – but in terms of runners, we reckon they would welcome another star capable of providing an in-behind threat. Apparently, their interest in Mudryk has diminished since Vincent Kompany joined the club.
Marseille, meanwhile would likely use Mudryk on the left in the same kind of role. For our money, they seem more likely.
Mudryk is worth €35m, as per Transfermarkt. His contract runs out in 2031.
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