It’s believed that Arsenal was Mudryk’s preferred destination, but during lengthy talks on Saturday, Chelsea made their case for why the winger should join them instead
According to reports, Chelsea’s hierarchy warned Mykhailo Mudryk that if he joined Arsenal, he would face difficulties with playing time.
Arsenal were the frontrunners to sign Mudryk this month, but after several weeks of talks, the Premier League leaders were unable to reach an agreement with Shakhtar Donetsk on a fee.
Chelsea were able to close in on a deal last weekend when co-owner Behdad Eghbali and director of global transfers Paul Winstanley flew to Turkey on Saturday to negotiate with Shakhtar before returning to London on their private jet once an £88.6 million deal was agreed.
It’s believed that Arsenal was Mudryk’s preferred destination, but during lengthy talks on Saturday, Chelsea made their case for why the winger should join them instead.
According to The Athletic, Chelsea told Mudryk that he would play an important role in Graham Potter’s team and that the club would provide him with a “platform” to thrive.
According to the report, Chelsea executives argued that Mudryk would face more difficulty at Arsenal, where he would compete for a spot alongside Gabriel Martinelli.
Meanwhile, Shakhtar CEO Sergei Palkin stated that Chelsea’s proposal to Mudryk impressed him.
‘When we first met Chelsea, we stayed together. It took about nine or ten hours for you to grasp the context. ‘They invited the player and explained the entire project to us,’ Palkin explained to The Athletic.
‘We realized that, yes, if you look right now, Chelsea has some problems, but that is normal because they are transitioning from one owner to another.
‘I can understand. They want to make significant changes. So when they tell you the whole story and you look ahead two, three, four, or five years, you can see they have a serious project.
‘I believe they will build one of the best clubs in the world because, believe me, they are very serious in all directions: sports science, stadium, commercial, everything. They appeared to be very ambitious to us.’