Chelsea agrees £88.5m deal with Shakhtar Donetsk

On Saturday, Chelsea co-owner Behdad Egbali and global transfer director Paul Winstanley flew to Antalya in Turkey. Then they used Mudryk’s private jet to bring Mudrick back to the UK.

 

 

Mudryk will undergo a medical in London and expects to watch Chelsea take on Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.

 

 

Chelsea is confident of securing a move and has offered the 22-year-old a seven-and-a-half-year deal.

 

 

Arsenal was still in talks as recently as Friday but is preparing to walk away from a move if the deal doesn’t work out.

 

 

Chelsea will pay an upfront payment of 70 million euros (£62 million) and an additional fee of 30 million euros (£26.5 million), which includes winning the Champions League, the Premier League, and other conditions linked to individual performance.

 

 

A statement from Shakhtar last Saturday night confirmed a deal was “very close.”

 

 

Chelsea then issued their statement, confirming they were “discussing terms” with Shakhtar over the transfer fee.

 

 

Chelsea added: “If an agreement reaches between the two clubs, the Ukraine international, who can play as a winger or striker, will talk about personal terms with the Blues before making a permanent move.”

 

 

In a social media post, Mudryk said Premier League leader Arsenal is his preferred destination, and personal circumstances did not expect to be an issue.

 

 

He liked a parody Instagram post describing him being held captive by Shakhtar Donetsk as they continued to insist on higher offers and uploaded posts showing him watching Arsenal games and telling Mikel Arteta was a “top coach.”

 

 

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But he now appears ready to join Graham Potter’s try-hard Chelsea side, who have just one win in their last five games.

 

 

Chelsea boss Todd Boehly has sanctioned the addition of Benoit Badiahill, David Fofana, and Andre Santos in the January transfer window. Joao Felix is also on loan from Atletico Madrid.

 

 

He was unknown outside Ukraine at the start of last season, with a transfer value of less than £1m. Now he is one of the most desirable young players in Europe. After explosive growth, Mudryk looked destined for big things.

 

 

The 21-year-old, who displayed his prodigious pace and one-on-one power in the Champions League group stage earlier this season, was described by Shakhtar Donetsk’s director of football Darijo Srna. “The best player in Europe” in his place” behind Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.

 

 

That claim might be an exaggeration, but Srna isn’t the only one who carries Mudryk in high regard. He has a long list of suitors, and Chelsea is close to signing him.