Chelsea have agreed a stunning £89million deal to sign Mykhaylo Mudryk under the noses of Arsenal, who had made the Shakhtar Donetsk winger their top transfer target.
The Gunners were confident heading into the weekend of finally wrapping up a deal for the 22-year-old, having told the Ukrainian giants they would pay £60m up front for the winger.
However, Chelsea quickly launched an attempt to hijack the deal on Saturday, flying a contingency out to Shakhtar’s training camp to successfully snare one of Europe’s most sought-after talents.
Chelsea will pay £62m up front and a further £37m in add-ons.
The player had preferred a move to Arsenal up until today but has now agreed to move to Stamford Bridge. He is now expected to fly to London to complete a medical.
It is a hammer blow for Gunners manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu, who are now back to the drawing board after spending three weeks tracking Mudryk.