Football

Ian Wright takes aim at Chelsea over mega Mykhailo Mudryk move

Mykhailo Mudryk

Arsenal legend and current pundit Ian Wright has criticised Chelsea’s mega-money move for Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk, suggesting that the big-spending Blues don’t have a clear plan in the transfer market.

The Gunners were believed to be on the verge of signing Mudryk after months of negotiations with selling club Shakhtar Donetsk, however, Chelsea swooped in and blew their London rivals out of the water with a vastly superior financial package for the 22-year-old over the weekend.

Led from the front by Todd Boehly, Chelsea have been splashing huge amounts of cash since their takeover last summer and the Mudryk deal takes their spending beyond a staggering £400m under their new owners.

However, the club have been criticised by many observers for what looks like a scattergun approach to transfers and now Ian Wright has had his say on their lavish recruitment strategy.

Wright says Arsenal can’t compete with Chelsea’s spending power

Speaking to Premier League productions, Wright spoke about the Mudryk deal, saying: “It’s one of those, unfortunately, that we may have missed out on but Arsenal cannot, cannot compete with what Chelsea can offer a player like that.

“But what’s happening at Arsenal is that they’re on a road to doing something and building something and they see Mudryk as a player who can come in, the way he plays, his attitude, the way he is, would’ve been perfect for the group.

“But the money they want, Arsenal can’t go there, so you have to move on to the next person simply because we cannot compete with Chelsea.

“Chelsea can come in, offer him three times as much as we can pay him and pay Shakhtar that kind of money for someone who hasn’t played 50 games yet, eight international caps, it’s one of those situations, for the boy’s sake, I hope he comes and fulfils the potential people see he has.

“From a Chelsea point of view, they’ve bought another player that they’re going to put amongst their roster that they’re just trying to fit into whatever they’re doing, I hope it works out for his sake. For Arsenal’s point of view, we’re moving on now.”

Arsenal’s failed move for Mudryk

Arsenal had been locked in discussions with Shakhtar Donetsk for exciting winger Mudryk for an extended period and after an initial £52m offer was rejected, they returned with an improved £62m bid followed by a third bid of £62m plus £20m in add-ons for the 22-year-old – all of which were rejected by his Ukrainian employers.

Chelsea then emerged from the shadows to match Shakhtar’s asking price of around £88.5m up front for the attacker and quickly sealed terms and an eight-and-a-half year contract for the long-time Arsenal target, with Mudryk expected to earn double the wages he would have pocketed had he ended up with the Gunners.

January has been a busy month for Chelsea, who have already sealed deals for Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana, Gabriel Slonina, Andrey Santos, while an agreement has also been reached with RB Leipzig for the transfer of Christopher Nkunku, who will arrive in the summer.


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