Chelsea transfer madness: €2.5m bargain is a BETTER player than Mudryk

Tom Weber

• 8 Mar 2024 21:03 GMT
• 16 min read

Chris Führich has been one of VfB Stuttgart's best players this term, illustrating how a small investment of just €2.5 million can go a long way.

Sebastian Hoeneß's Bundesliga side have been one of this season's surprise packages. Sitting third in the standings, all the headlines would be about Stuttgart were it not for Xabi Alonso and Bayer Leverkusen enjoying an even more spectacular campaign.

Yet, what the Swabians are doing is arguably more impressive. Stuttgart seriously battled against the drop last season and have enjoyed nowhere near the investment of Bayer 04. Much of the talk surrounding them has been about star striker Serhou Guirassy, who was heavily linked with a Premier League move in January.

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Brighton loanee Deniz Undav has also impressed and could be a viable replacement for Evan Ferguson should the Seagulls choose to cash in on him amid fresh Arsenal links. 21-year-old midfielder Enzo Millot is also enjoying a brilliant campaign and a Premier League move appears to be on the cards at some point in the future.

Out on the wing, Chris Führich has been in scintillating form and, according to data experts, this €2.5m signing is a better player than Mykhailo Mudryk.

Chelsea's transfer madness exposed

Since Todd Boehly took over Chelsea, the Blues have become infamous for bad transfer business. The biggest mistake has arguably been the signing of Mykhailo Mudryk for €70m, with the deal potentially rising to €100m.

While he was the hero in their recent FA Cup clash with Championship side Leeds, it was only his fifth goal in a Chelsea shirt since his move a year ago. There are still some who retain faith in the Ukrainian, such as the CEO of his former club, and Mudryk still has admirers at Arsenal, who were close to signing him, but the winger risks being replaced unless he massively steps up his game.

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To illustrate just what a poor signing Mudryk has been, one need only look at Führich, who recently extended his Stuttgart deal with a release clause in the region of €20m-€25m. The 26-year-old left-winger was signed from second-tier Paderborn in 2021 for just €2.5m and has notched seven goals and seven assists in 25 Bundesliga outings this term. Against Union Berlin on Friday, he again stole the show with a brilliant finish, cutting in from the right and blasting the ball into the net.

Data experts SciSports rate Führich higher than Mudryk. Using hundreds of data points to calculate a SciSkill, SciSports give €2.5m Führich a rating of 87.2 and €70m Mudryk one of 79, though the 23-year-old still has some potential to significantly improve on that score.

It just goes to show there is value to be found in smaller leagues and that you don't always need to splash the cash to land good players. Maybe Chelsea should be more like Stuttgart and less like, well, Chelsea.