Chelsea will pay Mykhailo Mudryk more than double what Arsenal were offering, according to a fresh report.
The Blues have agreed a £88.5million deal for Shakhtar Donetsk’s Mudryk, hijacking Arsenal’s No.1 transfer target in the process.
Indeed, Chelsea’s co-owner Behdad Eghbali and director of global transfers Paul Winstanley flew to a Shakhtar training camp in Turkey on Saturday to complete the deal.
The 22-year-old has since travelled to the UK and undergone a medical. He is expected to be at Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea take on Crystal Palace.
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Arsenal had been pursuing the player for months and had seen three bids worth up to £70million rejected for the winger.
The Gunners are said to have remained in talks as recently as Friday but were prepared to walk away from a deal if the fee was too excessive.
Mykhailo Mudryk contract details
The Independent's Miguel Delaney has claimed that Chelsea successfully hijacked Mudryk's transfer by offering over double the wages that Arsenal did.
Mudryk will reportedly be on over £100,000 a week at Chelsea, with Arsenal having initially offered up to £50,000 a week.
The report adds that the Blues also guaranteed Shakhtar €70million (£62million), with the €30million (£26million) add-ons based primarily on team performance.
Indeed, Shakhtar had previously stated that they wanted around £88million for the player, citing the fees paid by Premier League clubs for Jack Grealish and Antony as justification for such a price tag.
The Ukrainian club were reportedly intent on garnering as high a fee as possible due to aggravation that they had lost out on a number of potential sales after FIFA ruled that foreign players could leave Ukraine upon Russia’s illegal invasion of the county last February.
The Independent adds that while there is irritation at Arsenal at the manner Chelsea hijacked the deal, the Premier League leaders were insistent that they would not overspend to sign Mudryk.
Mudryk will be Chelsea’s fifth signing of the winter window, with the club having already added striker David Datro Fofana, centre-back Benoit Badiashile and Brazilian youngster Andrey Santos on permanent deals, as well as Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix on loan.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have reportedly been offered Brighton’s wantaway winger Leandro Trossard while Barcelona's Raphinha has also been linked as the Catalan club again attempt to balance the books.
Topics: Football, Chelsea, Arsenal, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Transfers
Chris Byfield