Chelsea attacker Mykhailo Mudryk emerged as a surprise target for Bayern Munich during the January transfer window, according to a respected journalist.
Mudryk was heavily linked with Arsenal in the months leading up to the 2023 winter window. However, the Gunners refused to meet Shakhtar Donetsk’s astronomical demands, which allowed London rivals Chelsea to swoop in.
On January 15, Chelsea announced the winger’s arrival at Stamford Bridge on a huge eight-and-a-half-year contract. They spent an initial £62m when signing him, though the deal could rise to a whopping £89m depending on bonus clauses.
Mudryk has shown the odd glimpse of his talent while in a Chelsea shirt, but he has not been able to do this on a regular basis.
The 23-year-old has struggled to adapt to the demands of Premier League football, while he has also appeared lost when being given tactical information by the likes of Graham Potter and now Mauricio Pochettino.
Mudryk’s goal record also leaves a lot to be desired. He has only managed four goals and four assists in 41 appearances for the West London side, and far more was expected of him when Chelsea forked out all that money to complete his signing.
Despite the Ukraine international’s underwhelming spell in England, Raphael Honigstein of The Athletic has revealed that Bayern ‘briefly considered’ landing him before the transfer window shut on Thursday night.
The German champions were looking to bolster their winger ranks after France star Kingsley Coman tore knee ligaments in the recent 3-2 victory over Augsburg. They identified Mudryk as a potential target, which suggests Bayern coaches feel they can get far more out of him than Chelsea have been able to.
Mykhailo Mudryk stays at Chelsea despite Bayern links
Bayern know Chelsea are not open to selling the wide man yet, and they were therefore only considering a six-month loan deal. Ultimately, though, Bayern decided Mudryk was not the right player to sign.
Instead, Thomas Tuchel’s side opted to bring forward the deal for Spanish winger Bryan Zaragoza. He was expected to leave Granada for Bavaria at the end of the campaign, but Bayern managed to strike an agreement to sign him six months early.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Bayern have paid Granada €15m (£12.8m) when capturing Zaragoza.
Mudryk will be happy that a club of Bayern’s size expressed an interest in him, as it shows he is still highly thought of in Europe. However, the player must now knuckle down and finally make his Chelsea spell a success.
If Mudryk does not start to show big signs of improvement in the next six to 12 months, then Chelsea will simply have to consider offloading him, even though they previously put their trust in him as one of the pillars of the future.
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