Arsenal dodged a bullet not signing Chelsea FLOP - Redknapp

Stuart Telford

• 21 Apr 2024 09:30 BST
• 3 min read

Arsenal were beaten by Chelsea at the 11th hour to the signing of Mykhailo Mudryk, but their Plan B has turned out to be the much superior player according to Jamie Redknapp.

Mudryk to Arsenal looked like a done deal for months, with the player engaging with their posts on social media and looking forward to being reunited with Ukraine international teammate Oleksandr ZInchenko.

But Chelsea swooped late in the day, agreeing to pay Shakhtar Donetsk an initial €70 million with the potential to rise to €100m. Arsenal instead signed Leandro Trossard from Brighton, paying a potential £27m (€31.3m).

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For less than half the price, Arsenal have had a return of 14 goals in all competitions, while Mudryk has managed just six with Chelsea. And Redknapp was happy to draw the comparison after Trossard's latest fired the Gunners past Wolves on Saturday.

Trossard 'second choice'

"If my mind serves me correctly [Arsenal] were in for Mudryk," the former Liverpool midfielder told Sky Sports. "They didn't get him, he chose to go to Chelsea - and they paid big money for him and [Trossard] was probably the second choice.

"But if you look at the two careers up to now - and there's nothing to say that Mudryk can't go onto still have a good career at Chelsea - but [Trossard's] been a brilliant signing. "He comes up with vital goals. He gives you width, he's comfortable on the ball…"

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"[The] £27m [fee] is an absolute bargain for a tremendous player, technically good that can nick a goal."

In contrast, Mudryk has mis-hit more than 30 per cent of his passes and could do with the extra yard in his head instead of his legs.

Mudryk's value has since plummeted to €22.1m per FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, which is €600,000 behind Trossard's.