Chelsea have reportedly been accused of overpaying for Arsenal target Mykhailo Mudryk after the Blues this weekend confirmed the signing of the Ukrainian international in a deal worth €100m (£88m).
According to the Athletic, ‘many believe’ in Ukraine that Chelsea overpaid ‘substantially’ to sign Mudryk this January after the west London side came out of the blue to beat Gunners to the 22-year-old’s signature in what is currently the biggest deal in the winter market.
As per the report, Arsenal believed they had won the race to sign Mudryk after weeks of talks with Shakhtar Donetsk for their superstar attacker. However, Chelsea came in with an eleventh-hour bid to snatch the youngster from the Premier League leaders.
Being presented at Stamford Bridge yesterday, Chelsea’s move to sign Mudryk was one of the most ambitious and dramatic deals in quite some time. Yet according to those in the attacker’s homeland, Graham Potter’s side have overpaid massively for the winger.
Indeed, Shakhtar had always stated from the very start that they wanted €100m for Mudryk, a fee that no club was seemingly willing to match. However, Chelsea under their new owner Todd Boehly did just that, with more signings on their way.
For Arsenal, missing out on Mudryk was always going to be a huge blow for Mikel Arteta’s side. However, given what critics in Ukraine are saying about Chelsea’s deal for the forward, the north London club might have been in the right to approach the transfer in the manner that they did.
Chelsea could soon regret Mudryk signing if performances fail to impress
Chelsea are no strangers to overpaying for players that have ultimately ended up being flops at the club, and whilst Mudryk is an exciting arrival, there’s always that little thought of doubt that the winger could be another Romelu Lukaku or Alvaro Morata.
As we know, Mudryk has never played in a league as competitive or as good as the Premier League. And whilst the winger has impressed in the UEFA Champions League, it isn’t ridiculous to already predicted that Arsenal could be right in their decision to not be dragged into a bidding war with the Blues.
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