Chelsea are playing against Manchester City on the pitch right now, but their main battle this week has been against Arsenal in the race for Mykhaylo Mudryk.
The Ukrainian winger is a player that is being courted by both the Gunners and the Blues, and it looks as though the battle to sign the winger is neck-and-neck at the moment.
Mudryk himself prefers Arsenal, but the Gunners are unwilling to pay Shakhtar Donetsk’s £88m asking price, while Chelsea – as many of us know, are historically more likely to splash the cash than Arsenal.
Unfortunately for the Gunners, the Blues have just been given even more incentive to go out and get the deal for Mudryk done.
Indeed, both Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic have gone off injured for Chelsea in the game against City, and that’s substantially increased the need for a new winger at Stamford Bridge.
Of course, we don’t know quite how bad these injuries are yet, but given that both players had to be subbed, things aren’t looking good.
Chelsea may have had some questions about whether or not they actually needed Mudryk. After all, they have a number of talented wingers in the squad right now, but these two injuries will have only served to further convince the west London club that this move is right for them.
Don’t be surprised if Chelsea’s pursuit of this player steps up in the wake of these two injuries, and given their current league position, the Londoners may well be starting to panic about where they’re going to finish.
Two injuries to both Sterling and Pulisic would usually be seen as a huge blow for Chelsea, but due to the timing and the circumstances around this situation, Arsenal may end up being the big losers here as Graham Potter’s side may now be encouraged to push further with their pursuit of Mudryk and gazump the Gunners.
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