Chelsea sign Arsenal target Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk for £88.5m

Chelsea announced signing winger Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in a deal worth £88.5m on January 15^th 2023.

Mudryk had been targeted by Arsenal since last summer but couldn’t register a breakthrough in the deal til Friday.

Chelsea agreed a deal with Shakhtar on Saturday night and the 22-year-old travelled to west London to complete a medical before signing an eight-and-a-half-year deal.

“I’m so happy to sign for Chelsea,” Mudryk said.

“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.”

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.”

Mudryk becomes Chelsea’s fifth signing of the January transfer window, following the arrivals of Joao Felix, Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos.

Mudryk earned a place in the senior Ukraine squad last year, receiving eight caps since making his international debut in their win over Scotland in the FIFA World Cup qualifying play-offs in June.

Mudryk joined the Shakhtar Donetsk academy in 2016 and, after a handful of senior appearances and loans to fellow Ukrainian Premier Liga sides Arsenal Kyiv and Desna Chernigiv, made his first-team breakthrough over the course of the 2021/22 season, with two goals and seven assists in 11 league games.