Chelsea's next keeper? Mudryk drops hint on who he wants Blues to sign

Stuart Telford

• 24 Feb 2023 16:16 GMT
• 3 min read

Chelsea are in the market for a new goalkeeper and January arrival Mykhailo Mudryk seems to have an eye on one in particular…

Mudryk joined the Blues from Shakhtar Donetsk in a transfer which could ultimately climb to €100 million, Todd Boehly pulling out all the stops to make sure the Ukrainian winger signed for Chelsea ahead of Arsenal.

Mudryk has joined an unsettled squad, though, with the goalkeeper question just one of a number that remains unanswered. Kepa Arrizabalaga reclaimed his No.1 spot from Edouard Mendy in October before the Senagalese was injured, but he hasn't always impressed.

READ: Kepa and the 10 most expensive goalkeepers of all time

Still the world's most expensive goalkeeper following his €80m arrival from Athletic Bilbao in 2018, Kepa has conceded 12 goals in his 15 Premier League games this season.

Mudryk clearly a fan

Mudryk was clearly following former club Shakhtar's progress on Thursday, meanwhile, posting to Instagram during their penalty shoot-out victory over Rennes in the Europa League knock-out round play-offs.

Former teammate Anatoliy Trubin made three saves in the shoot-out, with Mudryk tagging his former teammate with a heart and two clapping emojis.

READ: Arsenal were 'in love' with Mudryk - Shakhtar reveal ‘simple’ truth why they missed out

Eagle-eyed observers also noticed a copy of Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine on Mudryk's table, fundamentally a theory put out about disaster capitalism.

American billionaire Boehly perhaps came about his wealth by more honest means, but he certainly hasn't been shy to spend money since succeeding Roman Abramovich as Chelsea owner last May.

He may not have to spend quite so much on Trubin Chelsea did Kepa - the Ukraine international is valued at €10m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm - although Shakhtar proved with Mudryk how adept they are at demanding and achieving maximum transfer fees for their players.

Trubin has kept five clean sheets in his 12 Ukrainian Premier League games this season, saving 76 per cent of the shots on his goal. His current Shakhtar contract runs until June 2024.