Former Chelsea winger Willian has offered his verdict on Mykhailo Mudryk's transfer to Stamford Bridge ahead of his return to SW6 on Friday night. The current Fulham man scored against his previous employers as the two sides met at Craven Cottage last month but plenty has changed since then.
It was in the aftermath of the 2-1 defeat that Todd Boehly set about completing the unlikely transfer for Shakhtar Donetsk's winger Mudryk, a deal that was quickly completed just days later. Since then the 22-year-old has been joined by three more new signings.
The defeat to Fulham, who remain above their richer London neighbours despite being newly promoted, appears to have been a turning point for Boehly and Co. After chants of 'we want our Chelsea back' and more cries for Roman Abramovich and Thomas Tuchel, the new owners have set their stalls out.
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Mudryk was followed by Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto through the door before the best was saved until last. A £106.8million league record deal for Enzo Fernandez was completed with the Argentine set to make his debut against Willian. It was Mudryk that draws the biggest parallel though.
The story of both their transfers to Chelsea followed a similar path. On paper it goes down as Shakhtar to Chelsea but the reality was very different. Tottenham had completed their medical assessment for Willian before the Blues made a late offer and signed him.
For Mudyrk it was Arsenal that had done all the groundwork. The Gunners tracked him throughout the summer and looked set to reach an agreement, coming as close as they had gotten to him on the same day Chelsea swooped in with another late bid. Mudryk is now in line to make his full debut, first start and first home appearance against Willian.
"I can see [Mudryk's transfer is] different but Chelsea is Chelsea," he told The Times. "It’s a big club. They are in a difficult moment this season. But they have everything to be back in the top position, to fight for titles, because it is a big club.
"I was supposed to go to Tottenham. I was in London almost three weeks, waiting, waiting, waiting. And the day that I went to sign my contract with Tottenham, Chelsea came in.
"My agent said, 'Chelsea have called and want you there, what do we do now?' I said I wanted to go to Chelsea. I have respect for Tottenham as well, but it was the best choice of my career, because it was my dream to go to Chelsea.
"When I was in Ukraine I watched guys like John Terry, Didier Drogba, [Michael] Essien, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, a lot of stars."
Mudryk chose a similar path and was one of eight new players purchased in January as part of a record window. Willian will now play his first game back at Stamford Bridge since leaving the club in 2020. It will be the first time he's played in front of fans at the ground since March 2020 too, with the winger never getting a true send off due to the Covid-19 restrictions in grounds.
The 34-year-old is a big fan of Chelsea's record signing Fernandez. Willian added: "I saw some highlights [during the] World Cup – he [Fernandez] looks good!"
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