A transfer window that divides. Last week, The Athletic revealed that the recruitment led by Chelsea’s new management had not pleased everyone. According to the British media, the elders of the London locker room believe that the reinforcements are not necessarily all up to the level and the requirement of such a club. Which is problematic since the residents of Stamford Bridge have spent more than 600 million euros in the last two transfer markets. To afford Mykhaylo Mudryk, they thus put 70 million euros on the table, while adding 40 million euros in possible bonuses in the operation.
A sufficient sum to convince Shakhtar Donetsk to agree to let go of their 22-year-old player after weeks of discussions. It must be said that nothing was easy in this case since the Blues had to deal with strong competition from Arsenal. The Gunners initially had the player’s favor reminds us of Salim Baungally, journalist for RMC Sports and specialist in English football. “Mudryk is a special case. He posted footage on social media of watching Arsenal matches and liking everything around the Gunners, implying he was hot to go to Arsenal. He had never mentioned another club. In the end, the money made it to Chelsea.
Overall disappointing start
The 110 million offered by Chelsea to Shakhtar therefore made the difference. On January 15, he officially became a Blues player. The native of Krasnohrad, very good in the jersey of Donestk where he chained the goals as the assists, initialed an eight and a half year contract. A mark of confidence from Chelsea who wanted to shield him at all costs. Todd Boelhy was also pleased. “We are delighted to welcome Mykhaylo to Chelsea. He is a great talent who we believe will add tremendous value to our team, now and in the years to come. He will add depth to our attack and we know he will be very warmly welcomed in London.”
For his part, the player was on cloud nine. “I am very happy to sign for Chelsea. It’s a huge club, in a fantastic league and it’s a very attractive project for me at this stage of my career. I am delighted to meet my new teammates and look forward to working and learning with Graham Potter and his staff.” After words, place for action. On January 21, he entered 36 minutes against Liverpool. A rather interesting first for the Ukrainian, very stirring and full of promise. But afterwards, he didn’t really manage to show what he has in his stomach. After 3 starts (against Fulham, West Ham and Dortmund), he was a substitute before coming into play against Southampton and Tottenham. Used only 8 minutes against Spurs last weekend, Mudryk (0 goal, 0 assist) has already started to raise questions. Especially since he is on the list of Blues selected to play in the Champions League, unlike others who have been sacrificed.
His case questions in England
On SkysportsPaul Merson, former Arsenal, spoke about his case. “Mykhaylo Mudryk is an £88m signing sitting on the sidelines, it shows you he’s not a player Potter wants. If he was his player and if Potter had gone to the leaders and told them he needed Mudryk, he should have played.” The English press also wonders like the DailyMail. “The 22-year-old has plenty of pace and flair, but it remains to be seen if he will make an impact in the Premier League. With Potter having to balance a very large squad, it’s inevitable that some big names will have to be left out of the starting XI every game. Mudryk, however, will be determined to demonstrate that he should play a leading role for Chelsea. »
Contacted by us, Ed Aarons, journalist for The Guardianalso expected a little more from him. “His debut at Chelsea was very difficult. He still hasn’t scored a goal or provided an assist and has mainly been used as a substitute for Graham Potter. There has been a lot of pressure on Chelsea over the past few weeks after spending so much money during the transfer window, but things haven’t worked out yet as they haven’t signed a striker. I think Mudryk was affected by that and the fact that there are so many players competing for the same positions. It’s always difficult for young players to come to a new country and find their feet immediately, but Mudryk has the added pressure of the huge price tag… But he looks like a very talented player who needs some time to adapt before to see the best of him.”
A big transfer to digest
Same observation for Salim Baungally, journalist for RMC Sports. “He arrives crowned with this image of a future nugget. Admittedly, there were little things in his first game against Liverpool. He showed some qualities and we thought there might be something wrong. Unfortunately, it got complicated later in relation to the system, the game of the Premier League and his teammates who also change a lot. Sometimes he starts, sometimes he just goes in (Mount and Sterling have been preferred in the last 2 games, editor’s note). Today, there is no stability to help him in the end. But that’s hardly worrying because we say to ourselves that the day when there will be stability, things will potentially be better. The question is when? What is worrying is that there is a workforce that is so bloated, in all positions, are we really going to give it a full chance? If a new coach arrives, will he count on him in his system? There are a lot of questions around the future of Chelsea and ultimately its future directly.
Present for a little over a month, the winger is learning and making his mark. Still, is it disappointing? “As soon as there are crazy sums, inevitably there is a notion of the weight of the transfer which enters into the thinking of supporters, observers, etc… We can speak for the moment of disappointment in relation to its price and the rest . Apart from a few minutes against Liverppol where he was interesting, he did nothing. Nothing at all. In the game with his partners, in his position, there is nothing that shows that things are going in the right direction so it is obviously a disappointment for the moment., admits Salim Baungally. Ed Aarons agrees. “Considering the money they spent on him, yes it is disappointing. But like I said, it’s very early and I don’t want to bury it. I’m sure he will find success here in the end.” Chelsea is waiting for that! Mudryk too!
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