Tottenham Hotspur has signed winger Mykhailo Mudryk on a loan deal from Chelsea just before the transfer deadline, featuring a £75m purchase option.
Mudryk originally joined Chelsea in January 2023 for €100m (£89m) after they beat Arsenal for his signature, but his time at the club stalled. His career hit a major setback when he received a four-year ban from the Football Association after testing positive for meldonium, a banned substance that can enhance respiratory capacity and stamina. His last competitive match for Chelsea occurred on November 28, 2024.
However, following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Mudryk resolved his case with the FA at the end of July, accepting an anti-doping rule violation and a suspension equal to the time he had already served. The FA noted that under current World Anti-Doping Agency rules, the concentration of meldonium found in his sample would no longer be reported as an adverse finding.
Tottenham manager Roberto De Zerbi, who previously coached Mudryk during a productive breakthrough season at Shakhtar Donetsk in 2021–22, recommended the signing. After missing out on targets like Cody Gakpo and Iliman Ndiaye, Tottenham turned to Mudryk to complete their new-look front line alongside Sávio and Omar Marmoush.
Expressing enthusiasm about the reunion, Mudryk called De Zerbi his “football father” and voiced excitement about returning to play under him. De Zerbi praised the player as a top talent who deserves a chance to recover from the difficulties of the past two years.
In addition to Mudryk, Tottenham also completed deadline-day deals for central defender Tosin Adarabioyo from Chelsea for £7m, while defender Kevin Danso joined Sunderland on an initial loan with a mandatory £25m purchase. Meanwhile, midfielder Pape Sarr moved to Juventus on an initial loan with a €30m buy option.
