Chelsea owner Behdad Eghbali prioritised signing Mykhailo Mudryk over £105m star

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Chelsea signed Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2023 January transfer window.

However, Mykhailo Mudryk‘s move to Chelsea has not really worked out, with the winger now behind Jadon Sancho in the pecking order.

Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali is hoping that Mudryk comes good, being one of the figures at Stamford Bridge who really wanted to bring the 23-year-old in.

In fact, according to one journalist, Eghbali was so keen to sign Mudryk that he prioritised the Ukrainian over an England international.

• READ MORE: Enzo Maresca spotted screaming at £100k-a-week Chelsea star vs Brighton

Chelsea were more interested in signing Mykhailo Mudryk than Declan Rice

Mudryk and Declan Rice do not play in the same position, but Chelsea had to prioritise one over the other, journalist Simon Phillips has revealed.

Discussing Mudryk, Rice and Eghbali on Substack, he wrote: “Chelsea’s sporting directors and Behdad Eghbali wanted to bring Mykhailo Mudryk in and due to his high fee, that was their priority over Rice at that time and that was what [Graham] Potter got told.”

Rice eventually left West Ham United for Arsenal, joining the Gunners in a £105m deal. Chelsea did manage to bring in a defensive midfielder in the end, though, after signing Moises Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion.

Joao Felix recently claimed that Caicedo is Enzo Maresca’s favourite player. The 22-year-old has started all six of Chelsea’s Premier League games this season.

Will Chelsea regret not signing Declan Rice?

Caicedo only cost £10m more than Rice and is playing really well for Chelsea these days. As per WhoScored, the Ecuadorian is making an impressive four tackles per game, which is the highest average in the Blues’ squad.

Ultimately, there are probably not too many figures at Stamford Bridge crying about not signing Rice.

There may be some regret about bringing in Mudryk, though. He was not a cheap acquisition and has really struggled during his time in west London.

Last season, the Ukraine international was only able to score five goals in 31 Premier League appearances.

Of course, a lot of those appearances came from off the bench. But with Sancho now at the club, his situation is unlikely to improve.