How Chelsea beat Arsenal to Mykhailo Mudryk even though their offers were the same

Shakhtar Donetsk’s CEO Sergei Palkin has revealed how Chelsea managed to beat Arsenal to the signing of talented winger Mykhailo Mudryk.

Despite being heavily linked with a move to the Gunners, Mudryk was announced as a Chelsea player on Sunday after a deal in the region of £89 million was agreed with Shakhtar.

Many fans were left baffled by the outcome of the transfer saga and wondered how Chelsea managed to pip Arsenal to a player that the Emirates club have been targeting for a long time.

Now, Shakhtar CEO Palkin has explained the situation during an interview with The Athletic.

Palkin confirmed that both Chelsea and Arsenal offered the same amount of money for the 22-year-old but said the offer from the Blues was more serious.

He said: “Overall, it was the same. Not approximately the same — it was the same figure. The fixed part, the variable part and bonuses. But if you look inside the fixed part and bonuses, it was completely different.

“Different time (schedule) of the payments, different kinds of bonuses.

“Yes, we can talk about bonuses, but these bonuses should be somehow achievable and realistic, let’s say. Therefore, in this case, Chelsea was much more serious and fair in some points.”

Palkin also added that Chelsea were able to offer an attractive project for Mudryk to work under Graham Potter.

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He continued: “We realised that, yes, if you look right now, Chelsea have some kinds of problems but it is normal because they have a transition period from one owner to another. It is understandable.

“They would like to change a lot. So when they explain to you the whole story and you look for the next two, three, four, five years, then you see they have a serious project.

“I believe they will build one of the best clubs in the world because I am telling you, they are very serious in all directions: sports science, the stadium side, the commercial side, on all things. For us, they looked very ambitious.”

Mudryk’s Chelsea debut is likely to come this weekend as they take on Liverpool at Anfield.