Mudryk AGREED €22m transfer that would have changed everything for Chelsea

Tom Weber

• Updated: 25 Jan 2025 07:13 CST
• 3 min read

In the summer of 2022, Mykhailo Mudryk had all but agreed a transfer that would have saved Chelsea €100 million, it has been revealed.

The Ukraine international's reputation has been dragged through the gutter since his move to Stamford Bridge in January 2023. Mudryk has been nothing short of a major disappointment for Chelsea and he is currently serving a provisional suspension after allegedly failing a drugs test in late 2024.

Yet things could have been so very different for both the player and Chelsea. Prior to his transfer, he was one of Europe's most sought-after commodities as he was starring for Shakhtar Donetsk in his native Ukraine as a young, exciting winger.

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His performances for Shakhtar attracted the attention of Arsenal and Chelsea in late 2022, with both clubs famously engaging in a huge transfer battle that culminated in the Blues hijacking the Gunners' deal.

Six months earlier, however, Mudryk was just moments away from completing a totally different transfer.

Mudryk to Leverkusen was practically done

Originally disclosed by Ukrainian journalist Igor Tsyganyk and since picked up by Sky Germany, it has now been revealed just how close Mudryk came to joining Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2022.

The transfer was so close, in fact, that Mudryk already posed with Leverkusen's kit at the BayArena and even took selfies in the club's training gear.

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It is claimed that the 24-year-old had even completed his medical and signed his five-year contract already only for the deal to collapse when Shakhtar tried to renegotiate the transfer fee at the 11th hour.

Leverkusen had initially agreed a fee worth up to €22m for the winger, but shortly before the move was completed, Shakhtar began demanding around €30m at which point Leverkusen decided to leave the negotiations.

Six months later, Mudryk would join Chelsea in a deal that could rise as high as €100m.