On Saturday evening, The Blues swiftly swooped in and signed Shakhtar Donetsk’s winger before Arsenal was able to seal the deal.
At the start of the month, The Gunners were on the front line to sign the star for between £62 million and £71 million. But before Arsenal could iron out the fine wrinkles, Chelsea managed to hijack the deal right from under their noses for a historic £85 million.
Image Credit: Skysports.com
How can a player’s transfer be so much since his last transfer was less the £1 million?
The Ukrainian football player has been reported to be “the best in Europe in his position”. In the earlier Championship League group stages, he displayed his speed and one-on-one ability.
The 21-year-old has long been considered a player of great potential ever since he started in the Metalist Kharkiv’s academy. He later then moved to Dnipro and then started playing for Shakhtar in 2016. It took longer than most expected for him to start flaunting his colors.
At the age of 17, Shakhtar’s former manager saw his potential and signed him into the first-team fold, handing him his senior debut in 2018.
He clearly has a lot of talent but sometimes his attitude causes a few uncertainties.
Shakhtar captain Taras Stepanenko mentioned that: "He sometimes didn't hear what the coach said to him,". After a friendly against Azerbaijani in early 2019, Fonseca also said: "Mykhailo scored today, but he still has a lot to learn," he said. "I am definitely convinced by his talent, but first of all, he must understand that he still has a lot of ways he can improve… he has to change his attitude a bit on the pitch."
Join us in welcoming our new number 15, Mykhailo Mudryk! 👏 pic.twitter.com/QiNPzWPNFY
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 15, 2023
Chelsea’s speedy signage has come with a very clever reason.
Firstly, players who are 21 and under qualify over and above the max squad player limit of 25. But of course, for the next season, a plan will have to be made.
Premier league rules read: "Under-21 players are eligible over and above the limit of 25 players per squad. Each player is assigned a squad number, which they wear during Premier League matches. For the 2022/23 campaign Under-21 players will have been born on or after 1 January 2001."
Mudryk was born on January 5 2001
Secondly, Chelsea is protecting itself by amortization. Instead of breaching FFP, they are paying £40 million which will appear on the 2023 record, and then installments will be paid over six-and-a-half-years. These are the rules for transfers 21 and under.
This cost-effective exercise is helping Chelsea not TO pay a lump sum release clause up front, protecting them for a couple of years.
This shows that The Blues are doing a lot of clever planning, pulling the right strings, and identifying smart deals.
As for Mykhailo’s future pays lip, it was stated that Chelsea was prepared to double Arsenal’s offer.