Chelsea have confirmed the signing of Mykhaylo Mudryk after the Blues hijacked Arsenal's proposed move for the Shakhtar Donetsk winger in a transfer worth around £87million.
The 22-year-old has penned a staggering eight-and-a-half year deal at Stamford Bridge and becomes Chelsea's third arrival of the January transfer window after Benoit Badiashile and Joao Felix joined from Monaco and Atletico Madrid. He is expected to wear the No.15 shirt - a number that was previously donned by Kurt Zouma.
In an extraordinary transfer saga, it seemed as though Mudryk was heading for north London after it was revealed the Gunners were close to agreeing a deal for the winger. Arsenal saw two bids of up to £62m rejected for the Ukrainian as Mikel Arteta tried to strengthen his attack with another young, talented attacker.
However, Chelsea have come under their noses to bring Mudryk to west London in what will be the Blues' second most expensive signing of all-time behind Romelu Lukaku's £97m move from Inter Milan in August 2021. Graham Potter's men have been busy in January so far after Badiashile made the big-money switch earlier in the month, before Felix joined on a six-month loan deal last Wednesday.
Now, Mudryk has become the Blues' third signing in a week and he was at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace. The move was announced by Chelsea midway through the game as they released a statement to confirm that they had completed a deal for the forward.
Speaking after completing his move, Mudryk told Chelsea's official website : "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."
Todd Boehly, Chelsea chairman, and Behdad Eghbali, co-controlling owner, added: "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."
Chelsea's statement ended by thanking Shakhtar for "enabling Mykhailo to take up this new opportunity", before welcoming the winger to Stamford Bridge. Mudryk is the latest exciting attacker to join the club with Raheem Sterling, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic amongst the plethora of talent at Potter's disposal.
Mudryk has scored eight goals and provided 10 assists in 18 appearances for Shakhtar so far this season. The talented wide-man also impressed in the Champions League and netted twice against Celtic earlier in the campaign.
