Tottenham have completed the season-long loan signing of Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk from Chelsea.
Mudryk received a major boost at the end of July when all charges against him relating to an alleged anti-doping violation were dropped. As a result, the winger was cleared to return to football and resumed training with Chelsea, featuring during their pre-season preparations.
However, despite being available again, Chelsea decided to let Mudryk leave during the summer transfer window. He has now reunited with a manager he already knows well, with Roberto De Zerbi set to work with him again at Tottenham.
De Zerbi previously coached Mudryk during his time at Shakhtar Donetsk, and Spurs will be hoping that previous relationship can help the winger rediscover his best form.
Mudryk’s time at Chelsea had been underwhelming before his suspension, and journalist Alasdair Gold has revealed that he spoke to people around the club who raised concerns about the player’s decision-making.
Gold explained: “Speaking to people in and around Chelsea, his decision-making was poor on a lot of occasions. That’s what De Zerbi will need to fix and get him back to what he was when he had him at Shakhtar.”
It is unclear whether Gold was referring to Mudryk’s decisions on the pitch, off it, or both. Regardless, improving that aspect of his game will be an important task for De Zerbi if he wants to unlock the Ukrainian international’s potential.
Having already worked together at Shakhtar, De Zerbi will be hoping their existing relationship gives Mudryk the right environment to thrive as Tottenham prepare for the 2026-27 campaign.
A low-risk, high-reward move
From Tottenham’s perspective, bringing Mudryk in on loan represents a relatively low-risk deal with plenty of potential upside.
The winger will spend the entire 2026-27 season with Spurs, but the club are not committed to making the transfer permanent.
Mudryk was once regarded as one of Europe’s most exciting attacking talents and became a major investment for Chelsea. Unfortunately for the Blues, he struggled to live up to expectations at Stamford Bridge before his suspension interrupted his progress.
Tottenham now have the opportunity to benefit from a high-value player without committing to a permanent transfer. If the move fails to work out, Spurs can simply return him to Chelsea.
But if De Zerbi manages to revive the form Mudryk showed at Shakhtar, the loan could ultimately prove to be one of Tottenham’s smartest pieces of business of the summer transfer window.
