Chelsea have beaten Arsenal to the signing of winger Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Ukraine international has signed an eight-and-a-half-year deal, with the Blues paying Shakhtar a reported £62million – possibly rising to £88m.
The 22-year-old was in attendance for Chelsea’s game against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
“I’m so happy to sign for Chelsea,” Mudryk told the club’s website.
“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.”
Mudryk had looked poised to sign for London rivals Arsenal before a last-minute intervention from recruitment head Paul Winstanley and co-owner Behdad Eghbali on Saturday, with the pair flying to Turkey to negotiate the deal.
He is Chelsea's fifth recruit of the January window, following Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid, loan), Benoît Badiashile (Monaco, £35m), David Fofana (Molde, £10m) and Andrey Santos (Vasco de Gama, £18m) to Stamford Bridge.
He becomes the 14th first-team signing since Todd Boehly bought the club last year, with total spending for his short reign now totalling over £350m.
Raheem Sterling, Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly have also arrived in the summer for significant transfer fees as Boehly set about rebuilding Chelsea’s squad.
Mykhailo Mudryk being presented as Chelsea player at Stamford Bridge! 📸🔵 pic.twitter.com/UzLNLzeFmP
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 15, 2023
