The winter transfer window often tends to throw some massive surprises, but Chelsea might’ve just produced the most eye-popping January signing of all time in the Premier League. The London-based club paid a staggering £89 million to complete the signing of Shakhtar Donetsk forward Mykhaila Mudryk, who was unveiled as a player at Stamford Bridge during the club’s fixture against Crystal Palace this weekend. 

Mudryk was chased for a long period of time by Arsenal, who were willing to pay upto £70 million for the young sensation who has been lighting up the Ukrainian league with his pace and trickery. However, there have been plenty of negative responses towards the club owner Todd Boehly for having spent too much money on unproven talent. 

 “We are delighted to welcome Mykhailo to Chelsea. He’s a hugely exciting talent who we believe will be a terrific addition to our squad both now and in the years to come. He will add further depth to our attack and we know he’ll get a warm welcome to London,” Boehly said about the big money transfer. 

Chelsea has kept themselves very busy in the transfer market since the new owners took over from Roman Abramovich. Mudryk is their fifth signing of the January transfer window following the arrival of Joao Felix on a loan deal from Atletico Madrid, and the permanent signings of Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos.

Mudryk has scored seven goals in the Ukranian league for Shakhtar this season. The player has been with the club since 2016 as an academy prospect and made his senior debut in 2018. He was sent to multiple clubs in the country on loan deals for his personal development before becoming a regular in the 2020-21 season at the age of 19. 

Current Brighton manager Roberto di Zerbi was previously the manager of Mudryk at Shakhtar and rated him as one of the best young talents in the world. This prompted Chelsea to make the huge bid, which comprises of an initial payment of £62 million and further £27 million in add-ons. This signing takes Chelsea’s spending in 2022-23 over £400 million.