Chelsea blocked the possibility of struggling winger Mykhailo Mudryk leaving the club during the January transfer window amid interest from Bayern Munich, according to a report.
Mudryk only arrived at Stamford Bridge the previous January after a sudden surge in form at Shakhtar Donetsk, impressing for the Ukrainian club in the Champions League in particular – Chelsea stole in ahead of Arsenal to strike a deal worth up to £89m if various add-ons are met.
Yet Mudryk failed to score in his first 23 Chelsea appearances. Even now, the 23-year-old has only managed nine total goals and assists in 42 games to date, while his sole start two and a half months into 2024 came against second tier Preston North End in the FA Cup.
Despite the player occupying a fringe role, Fabrizio Romano has reported there was no desire from Chelsea to let Mudryk leave the club last month. There was interest from Bayern, who considered him as an option in late January, but this didn’t progress to a formal approach due to Chelsea’s firm stance.
Raheem Sterling has been starting more consistently on the left, with Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino also beginning to hand greater opportunities to Noni Madueke on the opposite flank. Pochettino has even resorted to lining usual striker Nicolas Jackson on the left against both Aston Villa and Crystal Palace of late, allowing Cole Palmer to play centrally as a ‘false nine’.
But Pochettino gave an indication of Chelsea’s overall stance on Mudryk when he spoke about the player in December, both praising his character and pointing more towards the long-term.
“He’s a fantastic guy and he’s such a nice person. He’s very authentic and genuine. One thing I can tell you, he’s very honest and very trustworthy and a very genuine and spontaneous guy,” the Blues boss explained two days before Christmas.
“Then, as a player he knows he needs to keep improving. He’s still young and he is going to improve, because he has the quality. He’s a player that in his evolution is doing really well and we are so happy. For sure with time he’s going to be a very important player. He’s already an important player but he’s going to improve a lot because the potential is massive.”
