Chelsea sign Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk for £88.5m

Arsenal bound Mykhailo Mudryk has signed for Chelsea, who offered £88.5m to Shakhtar Donetsk for an eight-and-a-half-year contract

(Football news) Chelsea have officially signed Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in a £88.5m deal. The 22 year old seemed to be bound for league leaders Arsenal who were in talks with the player and Shakhtar Donetsk until Friday but were adamant they wouldn’t overpay for Mudryk and were prepared to walk out of the deal. Chelsea went on to hijack the deal and the player travelled to London for a medical on Saturday and went on to sign an eight-and-a-half-year contract. The player becomes Chelsea’s fifth signing of the January transfer window, following the arrivals of Joao Felix, Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos.

“I’m so happy to sign for Chelsea. This is a huge club, in a fantastic league and it is a very attractive project for me at this stage of my career. I’m excited to meet my new team-mates and I’m looking forward to working and learning under Graham Potter and his staff” said Mykhailo Mudryk. Todd Boehly, Chelsea chairman, and Behdad Eghbali, co-controlling owner, said: “We are delighted to welcome Mykhailo to Chelsea. He’s a hugely exciting talent who we believe will be a terrific addition to our squad both now and in the years to come. He will add further depth to our attack and we know he’ll get a very warm welcome to London.”

“I think you’re never surprised in the transfer window because things happen sometimes like you don’t expect them to happen. In terms of what he brings, he’s a young player with a big future. Exciting one vs one, he attacks the backline, can go in wide areas but also affects the goal. He’s a really exciting player and I think our supporters will really like him.

“I’m the head coach and as you know, I’ve got enough to worry about without thinking about contract lengths. I’ll leave that to the club. I’ll try to support as best I can. I’m just looking forward to working with him. If I’m here for the remainder of his contract, we’ll all be happy!” – Chelsea manager Graham Potter

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