Mudryk was close to €20m move in the summer

Stuart Telford

• 15 Jan 2023 08:28 GMT
• 3 min read

Chelsea are on the cusp of completing a €100 million move for Mykhaylo Mudryk. They could have had him for five times cheaper if they had moved last summer.

Mudryk has been Arsenal's top transfer target for months, but the Gunners were unwilling to match Shakhtar Donetsk's asking price, allowing Chelsea to steal in and hijack the deal.

Mudryk has verbally agreed terms with the Blues, with confirmation of his move to Stamford Bridge expected imminently.

READ: Mudryk agrees Chelsea personal terms as Arsenal refuse to match €100m bid

Todd Boehly has sanctioned a deal for the player nicknamed the "Ukrainian Neymar" which will see Shakhtar receive €70m up front with a further €30m to follow in bonuses. They could have had him for a fraction of the price.

'Crazy business'

"How fast things change," Sport 1 reporter Patrick Berger posted on Twitter. "[Eight] months ago Mykhaylo Mudryk was on the verge of joining Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for only €20m. Now he's going to join Chelsea for €100m (bonuses included). Crazy business!"

Berger posted in reply to his own tweet from May in which he reported Leverkusen were ready to move for Mudryk having extended Patrik Schick's deal at the BayArena and agreed terms for Adam Hlozek's arrival from Sparta Prague.

READ: Three cheaper alternatives to Mudryk for Arsenal

Everton were also reportedly in for Mudryk last summer, offering €30m, but Shakhtar have done incredibly well in holding onto him until now.

Mudryk has enjoyed his most prolific season to date, with 10 goals and eight assists from 18 games in all competitions, with five goal-involvements from his six Champions League group stage outings.

Chelsea had a tumultuous time last summer when Mudryk's price was still relatively low, with Boehly overseeing his first transfer window having replaced Roman Abramovich as Blues owner in May.

They spent more than €280 on eight players - making Marc Cucurella the most expensive left-back off all time - before Thomas Tuchel was replaced as manager by Graham Potter on the conclusion of the summer window.