Chelsea
Premier League • England
Chelsea warming to humbling January exit for mega-money flop; one club ready to pounce
It’s becoming ‘more likely’ that Chelsea loan mega-money winger Mykhailo Mudryk out in January, and one club who are no stranger to taking a chance in the transfer market are weighing up a move, according to reports.
Chelsea splashed out an initial £62m when beating Arsenal to the signature of Mudryk back in the winter window of 2023. Pending add-ons the total cost of the deal could reach as high as £89m.
Mudryk has struggled to make any meaningful level of impact in England and has fallen behind summer signings Jadon Sancho and Pedro Neto in the pecking order. Noni Madueke is also favoured by manager Enzo Maresca, while Cole Palmer is an automatic selection in the forward line.
TEAMtalk exclusively revealed back in September that Chelsea were considering loaning Mudryk out in the upcoming January window.
A fresh update from Give Me Sport has echoed our claim while also suggesting the Blues are firming up those intentions. Indeed, GMS stated ‘the chances of the Ukrainian departing the club on loan in the winter window to find his form again are becoming more likely.’
Chelsea’s idea, per the report, is for Mudryk to refine his game and rediscover the type of form that prompted Chelsea to sign the winger in the first place.
That would in turn lead to Mudryk returning to Stamford Bridge and becoming a genuine option for Maresca ahead of the 2025/26 season. The goal is not to sell Mudryk once the potential loan concludes. Mudryk is contracted to the Blues until 2031.
READ MORE: The key contract details of every Chelsea first-team player: Expiry dates, weekly wages, agents…
Marseille considering Mykhailo Mudryk loan approach
TEAMtalk understands one club who hold concrete interest in signing Mudryk via the loan route is Marseille.
The Ligue 1 outfit – managed by Roberto De Zerbi – are no stranger to taking a chance in the transfer market of late.
Marseille signed free agent Adrien Rabiot last month, while many of their more conventional summer signings came from the Premier League or Championship. Among them was Mason Greenwood who has scored scored five goals in his first seven matches for the club.
We’ve been informed De Zerbi is a huge admirer of Mudryk and believes he’d be able to bring out the winger’s best if brought to Marseille.
A loan move is the likeliest type of approach from Marseille’s perspective. That marries up with Chelsea’s outlook anyway, with the Blues not determined to sell Mudryk outright.
Osimhen deal revived? / Palmer transfer explanation
In other news, transfer insider Rudy Galetti has told TEAMtalk Chelsea remain interest in signing Victor Osimhen after their near miss over the summer.
Osimhen is currently on loan at Galatasaray but the striker’s deal includes a break clause that allows clubs to sign him permanently in January, if his release clause is triggered.
The clause is set at €75m (£62.8m / $82.1m), which is significantly lower than what Napoli were holding out for over the summer.
Elsewhere, former England international Danny Mills has offered an explanation as to why Manchester City allowed Chelsea to sign Cole Palmer.
“The problem that I think he had at Manchester City, Pep likes to play in a certain way and Pep doesn’t really like those sort of freedom-esque players, which is why he had to reign Jack Grealish in an awful lot and he changed his game almost completely from what Jack was,” said Mills.
“[Grealish was] amazing and [that’s] why he got that move to Man City, he then became a completely different player. I don’t think Cole Palmer was willing to do that and was willing to change and become a player that’s going to sit in that position and work back and do as he told.”
Mudryk falls as Madueke rises
Mudryk joined Chelsea in a deal worth up to £89m (including add-ons) in January 2023 after a transfer fight with Arsenal and it’s fair to say he hasn’t lived up to his price tag.
READ MORE: The most expensive Chelsea signings of all time, featuring five Todd Boehly deals
The Ukrainian international failed to find the net for the Blues in the second half of the 2022/23 campaign, before scoring seven times across all competitions in 2023/24.
He has failed to build on that progress this term though and is yet to find the net in eight appearances so far.
Madueke, 22, is probably the fairest player to compare Mudryk with as they are a similar age, play on the wing and both stars broke into the Chelsea first-team in 2022/23.
While Mudryk has struggled this term, Madueke has nailed down his spot in Maresca’s starting XI by bagging four goals in six Premier League games, including a stunning hattrick against Wolves.
Madueke averages more successful dribbles per match with 1.5 compared to Mudryk’s 0.5, while he is also superior in possession with a pass success rate of 81.5% vs the Ukrainian’s 65%, based on stats this season.
Last season, Madueke averaged more shots on goal per game with 1.4 compared to Mudryk’s 1.1, statistically making him more active in front of goal.
Maresca seems convinced that Mudryk isn’t good enough to feature regularly in his squad, so a loan move away from Stamford Bridge could be the best thing for his development.