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

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 15 Jan 2023 01:57 GMT
• 2 min read

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Mykhailo Mudryk is set to become a Chelsea player, with the Shakhtar Donetsk attacker having agreed personal terms with the club verbally.

Mudryk had long been expected to join Arsenal, but a third official bid from the Emirates club to Shakhtar was not accepted.

Chelsea took the opportunity to launch a €100 million offer to the Ukrainian side, which was accepted, setting in motion a series of events that will end up with Mudryk at Stamford Bridge, with official confirmation expected as soon as Sunday.

MORE: How Chelsea could line up with Mudryk

Revealed: How Chelsea beat Arsenal to Mudryk

CBS Sports reporter and football transfer specialist Ben Jacobs has outlined the details of a dramatic few hours.

“Mykhailo Mudryk has verbally agreed personal terms with Chelsea on a deal until summer 2030 – but only after asking whether Arsenal would match their offer,” he explains.

“Arsenal’s advanced talks overlapped with Chelsea’s hijack. Arsenal made it clear they wouldn’t pay €100m. This, I am told, was relayed to Mudryk.

MORE: Chelsea join Shakhtar in trolling Arsenal over Mudryk

“This is key: Mudryk hasn’t U-turned and just picked Chelsea over Arsenal. He’s agreed to Chelsea over staying at Shakhtar. He always said he wanted a winter move and the Premier League is of huge appeal.

“Chelsea made a very strong and quick pitch. But it’s important to note that Mudryk’s dream move has been Arsenal throughout. It just became apparent in the last few hours, and with two suitors, only one would give Shakhtar what they wanted.”

Jacobs explained that it was not necessarily the size of Chelsea’s bid that won the day for Shakhtar over Arsenal.

“It’s crucial not to look at the two offers numerically,” he said. “Chelsea’s bid was higher and with a better structure. So it’s more complex than Arsenal just adding a few million. That still wouldn’t have matched what Chelsea overed.”

FootballTransfers revealed earlier in January that Arsenal had clearly outlined what they were willing to pay for Mudryk and were happy to walk away from a deal if the bidding went over their valuation, which is exactly why Chelsea were able to swoop.