Bayern 'considered' shock January swoop for Chelsea flop Mudryk

Tom Weber

Updated: 2 Feb 2024 20:23 GMT
3 min read

Mykhailo Mudryk was one of the attacking options 'briefly considered' by Bayern in January, according to a report.

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The Bavarians have been on an absolute tear in the transfer market since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel at the end of last season, splashing out sums that were hitherto unseen in the Bundesliga. After snapping up Harry Kane and Kim Min-jae for a combined €150 million (potentially rising to €170m) in the summer, Bayern were once again busy in January.

Initially, the plan was just to add another right-back and centre-back, but negotiations with PSG over former Leipzig man Nordi Mukiele dragged on and didn't yield any results, prompting the Bundesliga giants to open their wallets again and shelling out €30m on his compatriot Sacha Boey instead. They also snapped up Eric Dier from Tottenham.

However, late in January, winger Kingsley Coman tore his ACL, which again compelled Bayern to dip into the market. They ultimately ended up bringing Bryan Zaragoza's summer move from Granada forward by six months in exchange for a few additional million, but the Spaniard wasn't the only option on the table.

Bayern eyed Mudryk

According to Raphael Honigstein of The Athletic, Chelsea flop Mykhailo Mudryk was among the options 'briefly considered' as a replacement for Coman. Of course, the Bavarians were not interested in a permanent move.

Given that Mudryk only joined Chelsea a year ago for a fee that could rise to as much as €100m, the Ukrainian was outside of Bayern's January budget - especially after the Boey acquisition - but he was a potential loan option if Honigstein is to be believed.

Ultimately, Bayern probably did the right thing by going for Zaragoza instead. The Spaniard has as many goal contributions in 21 games this season as Mudryk has across 41 outings since joining Chelsea in January 2023. The 23-year-old has thus far been one of the most disappointing signings in recent Premier League history.