Mykhaylo Mudryk’s Chelsea Future Set to Be Decided on Transfer Deadline Day

Mykhaylo Mudryk's Chelsea future will likely be decided in the final hours of the transfer window, as the Ukraine winger pushes for a Premier League loan while the club looks at options across Europe.

The 25-year-old has had a rough couple of years. He hadn't played a competitive match since November 2024, when he tested positive for a banned substance called meldonium and got hit with a four-year ban from the FA. He always said he picked up the substance by accident while away on international duty with Ukraine. His case went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and this summer it finally paid off: the ban was overturned and lifted right away. Mudryk joined Chelsea's preseason tour in Hong Kong and got some minutes off the bench in friendlies against Juventus, AC Milan, and Johor Darul Ta'zim, his first game action in almost two years.

Even with the feel-good comeback story, Chelsea moved fast to sort out his short-term future. With Xabi Alonso happy with his current attacking options, the club decided Mudryk should go out on loan rather than be sold this season. That also lines up with the numbers: Mudryk signed from Shakhtar Donetsk for around £61m in January 2023 and still has a contract running until 2031, so there's no rush to sell him cheap. Chelsea reportedly wanted a loan fee of about £5m, with the borrowing club covering his full wages for the season, and no option to buy built in.

Chelsea's first pick for a loan spot was Strasbourg, the Ligue 1 side under the same ownership group, BlueCo. It's a move the club has used before to get fringe players playing time while keeping control over their future.

Mudryk had other plans. He made it clear he wanted to stay in England, with Leeds United as his top choice. Daniel Farke's club put in two separate loan offers before deadline day, and Chelsea turned down both. The main issue seemed to be playing time. Chelsea reportedly worried that Mudryk, still shaking off rust after 20 months out, wouldn't get enough minutes in a Leeds squad already packed with attacking talent. The two clubs couldn't agree on clauses tied to how much he'd actually play. Talks were said to have collapsed at one stage before coming back to life just days before the deadline, with Leeds still not giving up.

🚨🇺🇦 Mykhaylo Mudryk set to leave Chelsea before the Deadline, loan deal being discussed.

Leeds United insisting for days but there could be surpises based on opportunities.

Mudryk wants to stay in Premier League. pic.twitter.com/ASe4TXsIeN

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 31, 2026

A few other clubs, including Coventry City and some sides in Italy and Germany, were also linked as Chelsea kept their options open beyond Strasbourg and Leeds.

Alonso addressed the situation earlier this month, choosing his words carefully: "He's a special player and it's a special case."

The transfer window shuts at 11pm UK time on 1 September, with the usual two-hour window afterward to finish paperwork on deals already agreed. Given how much the story has shifted in the final days, where Mudryk actually ends up (Strasbourg, Leeds, or somewhere else) is still up in the air until it's official.