There is a club in London that is doing quite well.
There’s a club in London that’s going through a bit of a crisis.
You can find out which. Because this is, in short, strange.
The fact that Chelsea also wanted to sign Mikhailo Modric wasn’t really new – it had been reported for some time that the blue-clad London club also lied in the reeds while Arsenal bid after an offer was rejected.
But even so, Saturday’s total change of scenery was a development no one expected.
It’s hard to know where to begin when Chelsea have now surpassed their fifth (!) billion crowns spent in the 2022/23 season and Arsenal’s stated and obvious first choice in the January market has ended up with local rivals instead.
Because there is a lot to be said about a lot. Because there is a lot that is strange here.
What is really the most unusual?
Mykhailo Mudryk’s flirtation with Arsenal, where he repeatedly liked Instagram pictures of himself in an Arsenal shirt and spoke publicly about his interest in the club, eventually led to a move to local rivals which is an oddity in itself.
How on Saturday Chelsea released an official statement that they were in negotiations for a player, added the aforementioned player’s Instagram handle to the club’s Instagram bio, and publicly flirted with the player across their social media on Saturday – before that became clear. – even stranger.
Yes, Chelsea’s actions on their social media make even the eight-and-a-half year “baseball contract”, which has been written so far to circumvent the Financial Fair Play rules, seem plausible and rational. Speaking of sanity and rationality, the same could be said of Arsenal’s apparent decision not to match Chelsea’s high bid (yet the league leaders were also willing to pay a steep premium).
Because that’s the weirdest thing here.
Chelsea have just spent over a billion (including bonuses) on a 22-year-old who has only played a total of 65 first-team games, most of which have been in the Ukrainian Premier League, throughout his career.
Best January sales ever?
Indeed, Champions League handover has become almost synonymous with championship handover as big clubs look for the next big thing in the transfer market. And no one can say that Mykhailo Modric did not accept the Shakhtar shirt during the CL match last fall. Of course he has great, interesting qualities and he could definitely become something very special in the long run. Of course, you have to accept a certain bonus for a player like Mudryk.
But it is a club that can party here. It is called Shakhtar Donetsk. Because they managed what looks like the most amazing sale we’ve seen in the January window — ever.
Because it’s nothing short of awesome to have Chelsea freak out over paying over a billion dollars for a player with a Mykhailo Mudryk CV. And also have the player in question, more or less an outspoken Arsenal supporter, also agree to make the move (which also A phone call from Graham Potter He must have been involved in, if what has been reported is to be believed).
Still an acute crisis
On the other hand, Chelsea is still in crisis. Mudryk could certainly be a shot that helps them point in the right direction (just as I still think Joao Felix will be later this spring, despite the first expulsion).
But they have also spent more than five billion crowns in the just over six months since Todd Bohle took over as king. And they didn’t directly get better from it – quite the opposite.
They still have sharp holes in both the midfield and fullback positions. It is still not clear who will actually score all the goals. And Graham Potter turns twenty in a matter of months (god, how do I struggle with him).
And now he’s getting another wing – as if that’s the answer.
That’s roughly what I thought it would be more reasonable to push Enzo Fernandez’ clause when they had the chance.