Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko has shared what he said to Mykhailo Mudryk after he completed his move to Chelsea in the New Year.
Mykhailo Mudryk, 22, made the switch to Stamford Bridge in January, with Chelsea paying as much as £89million (BBC) to sign him from Shakhtar Donetsk.
The quick attacker has had a slow start to his Blues career under Graham Potter, albeit there has been flashes of brilliance so far.
He’s now joined up with the Ukraine squad during the international break, with a European Championship qualifier against England taking place on Sunday.
Ukraine international Zinchenko, 26, has been speaking about his teammate’s move to Chelsea.
Mudryk was strongly linked with a mid-season transfer to Arsenal, where he could have linked up with his international colleague. Journalist Simon Phillips told GiveMeSport at the start of January that Mudryk was more keen on the idea of joining Arsenal than Chelsea.
However, the winger moved to the blue side of London.
“I told him: ‘It’s gone already, it doesn’t matter what you wanted, what the other guys wanted’,” Zinchenko told the Daily Mail.
“Now you’re a Chelsea player, you signed a long-term contract and you have only one option, only one way: direct and forward.
“Unfortunately he didn’t become an Arsenal player – as I wanted personally! – but it’s life.”
The best is definitely yet to come from Mudryk.
He’s one of the golden youngsters emerging in the Ukraine side, who could prove to be a tough test for England this weekend.
Mudryk may have found it easier slotting into an Arsenal XI that is flying right now. It’s something Leandro Trossard has benefited since joining from Brighton in January.
Chelsea are much further back in their team’s development under Potter, so Mudryk’s decision to join Chelsea may still end up being the right one in the future. We certainly hope that is the case!
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
