Mykhaylo Mudryk may have eventually decided to join Premier League strugglers Chelsea over his dream destination Arsenal for financial rather than sporting reasons, Dynamo Kiev legend Alyaksandr Khatskevich tells FanDay.
There are eerie similarities between the Mudryk saga and the deal that saw Cody Gakpo join Liverpool.
Gakpo had spent much of the final few months of 2022 telling anyone who’d listen how keen he was about joining Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United. In the end, only United’s lack of transfer funds opened the door to arch rivals Liverpool.
Only a couple of weeks later, Mudryk was being unveiled at Stamford Bridge just days after posting a photograph of himself wearing an Arsenal shirt on his official Instagram account. Mudryk was practically begging Shakhtar Donetsk to let him join Mikel Arteta’s Gunners at one point. The Ukraine international even admitted that he would choose Arsenal over reigning European champions Real Madrid.
That was before, however, Chelsea blew their London rivals out the water; offering Mudryk a staggering eight-and-a-half year contract while submitting a bid of almost £90 million. With Arsenal looking to avoid any spiralling transfer sagas, Arteta and co backed away.
Then again, some will argue that, if Mudryk really was dreaming of pulling on that red and white kit, why did he then jump at the opportunity to join one of Arsenal’s biggest rivals, thus bringing his Emirates ambitions to a shuddering halt?
Chelsea beat Arsenal to Ukraine star Mykhaylo Mudryk as Shakhtar Donetsk sell for £88m
“Judging by the way Arsenal and Chelsea are performing today, the Gunners would definitely be the favourites in this choice,” says Khatskevich, a seven time Ukrainian champion.
“It is clear that the financial side is an important factor. From a sporting point of view, Arsenal is a younger, more promising team.
“I don’t know what strategy Chelsea have in terms of building and moving forward. At the moment, they are in tenth place. But the fact that they offered more money may have played a role. Plus, the contract is very long-term.
“This is Mudrik’s personal decision.”
According to the Independent, Chelsea also doubled Arsenal’s £50,000-a-week contract offer. Mudryk is now the fourth-most expensive signing in Premier League history. And while there can be no doubts about his potential, the wisdom of splashing out 100 million euros on a forward with just 12 career goals certainly can be questioned.
“In the last six months, Misha has performed quite brightly,” Khatskevich counters. “Both in the Champions League and in the Ukrainian championship. He was a leader.
“He hasn’t played much at the top level yet, but he’s young. Chelsea see potential in him.”
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