The Todd Boehly-Clarion Capital era at Stamford Bridge has proven one thing in the early days of the co-ownership reign in west London; Chelsea remains committed to spending exorbitant fees to bring talent to the English capital.
Money talks in football these days and certainly it would be hard to judge the Blues for leveraging finances they are capable of bringing to bear if it means they improve the senior setup under Graham Potter, which certainly is a position the club has taken when it comes to pushing for Argentine starlet Enzo Fernández during the current transfer window.
With David Datro Fofana already in the door after arriving from Norwegian outfit Molde FK, and Benoît Badiashile also on the cusp of swapping a Monagaque lifestyle for that of the epicenter of the United Kingdom, Chelsea is now being linked with growing interest in another young continental talent in the vein of 21-year-old Ukrainian sensation Mykhailo Mudryk.
Though Mudryk seemed all but guaranteed to get his supposed dream move to Arsenal this month after Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar have prioritized his signature as a key long-term puzzle piece at the Emirates, Chelsea has now seemingly piggybacked on the winter situation and are prepared for in-person talks between Boehly and Shakhtar Donetsk sporting director Dario Srna at the behest of the Chelsea head himself.
But as per reports from the Telegraph’s Matt Law, there is a growing sense that Boehly’s temporary position as acting sporting director during January is seeing the American billionaire operate off the back of others rather than any direction taken through the scouting and recruitment setup at the club.
Much of how Chelsea’s interest in Mudryk developed is strikingly similar to their late surge for Raphinha - who Arsenal also was quite keen on - before the Brazilian ultimately left Leeds United for Barcelona. There are also questions surrounding the deal for Denis Zakaria, and it is becoming clear that Boehly has cast a wide net and is frantically going after players through reputation or noting competitive interest as a sign of ability and trying to strongarm his way to the negotiating table.
Granted, some of what Chelsea has done in the market since the summer and up until now makes a lot of sense for the long-term profile of the club, but overall, their way of operating has been frantic at best and hardly speaks to the sustainability that many fans will be hoping for in the long run.
