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Mykhaylo Mudryk to Tottenham: Tottenham Hotspur have added Mykhaylo Mudryk to their deadline-day shortlist as they weigh up an alternative to Cody Gakpo.
According to Transfer Feed, Spurs have made direct late-window contact over the Chelsea winger, while preparing a fresh formal approach for Liverpool forward Gakpo. It leaves Mudryk, 25, facing another twist in a career that has gone badly off course since his £61 million move from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023.
Mykhaylo Mudryk to Tottenham: Chelsea’s £88.5m gamble has gone sour
Chelsea’s deal for Mudryk could eventually reach £88.5m, with the Ukrainian signing a contract running until 2031. Those numbers look rather different now.
Mudryk has spent around 20 months serving a competitive suspension following an anti-doping case involving meldonium. He played no football during the 2025/26 campaign, leaving him without a competitive appearance since late 2024. His ban has now been lifted after an agreement with the FA, allowing him to return to training.
But Xabi Alonso doesn’t appear to have a route back into his plans. Jamie Gittens, Morgan Rogers and Pedro Neto are all ahead of him in Chelsea’s attacking hierarchy, while the club would reportedly prefer to send Mudryk on loan to sister side Strasbourg. Mudryk, though, wants to stay in England.
That’s where Tottenham come in. Johan Lange and Spurs’ recruitment department know Chelsea have a difficult asset on their hands. Mudryk’s wages are understood to be around £100,000 a week, and keeping an unavailable player on the books offers Chelsea little benefit.
The bigger question is price. Spurs shouldn’t be paying anything close to the fee Chelsea originally invested. Mudryk has scored only five goals in 53 Premier League appearances, and his long spell away from competitive football makes a permanent deal a serious gamble.
A fee of £25m-£30m would make far more sense. Chelsea could also look at a £4m loan with a mandatory £28m purchase obligation triggered by 15 Premier League starts. That would give Tottenham some protection while handing Chelsea a clearer route to moving the player permanently.
Why Mudryk could tempt Tottenham
There is still an exciting footballer buried beneath the mess. Mudryk’s acceleration is frightening when he gets space to attack. His directness, willingness to take on defenders and ability to stretch a back line are qualities Tottenham could use, particularly in a side built around aggressive transitions.
The risk is obvious. 20 months without competitive football is an enormous gap. Spurs have to decide whether the explosive winger Chelsea bought or the stalled player who has barely kicked a ball for nearly two years is the one they’re actually buying. At £25m, that gamble starts to look interesting.