Chelsea make Mykhailo Mudryk transfer decision as preference revealed | OneFootball

Ukrainian winger has options in England and abroad

Chelsea will not consider selling Mykhailo Mudryk this summer as clubs queue up to express interest, though remain open to a loan.

The Ukrainian recently returned from a 20-month absence after the FA and WADA reached an agreement to resolve his doping ban, which had been in place since December 2024.

He was promptly welcomed back into the fold at Chelsea, with Xabi Alonso handing him a comeback cameo in a friendly defeat by Juventus.

When his ban was first lifted on July 31, Chelsea made clear their priority was to help him reintegrate to a team setting, and plans for the coming season have now been drawn into sharper focus.

Standard Sport understands the Blues will only consider loan offers for the player, with their BlueCo sister club Strasbourg emerging as an interested party.

Back in the fold: Mykhailo Mudryk

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Mudryk, though, is hoping to remain in the Premier League, where he is said to have suitors. Staying with Chelsea has not been ruled out, but as things stand, a loan seems the most likely eventuality.

Should he join Strasbourg, the Ukrainian stands to become the third player to make that same move this summer after academy prospect Genesis Antwi and Danish goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen. No club can have more than three players on loan at another at any given time.

Mudryk, 25, joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2023 and has since tallied 21 goal contributions in 73 appearances across all competitions.

He was hit with a four-year FA suspension after a routine urine test in winter 2024 showed the presence of meldonium, a controlled substance. His ban was lifted after an appeal to the Court for Arbitration for Sport.

Mudryk has trained alone with private coaches throughout his ban and shared regular clips of himself undertaking shooting drills to his social media pages.

Alonso has welcomed him back into the squad with open arms, describing his return as ‘emotional’.

“I’m really pleased for him,’ said the Spaniard following Mudryk’s return. “It was emotional for everyone from the club to see him back.

“When I told him before the game he could play 10 or 15 minutes, he was thrilled for sure. It was after such a long period [that he couldn’t play with the team], so it was a great feeling for him and for everyone else.”