Since Chelsea’s new owners arrived in 2022, the Blues have spent big money reconfiguring their squad, making plenty of sales, and bringing plenty of young, exciting talent into the squad.
Of course, there are some great success stories already of this, Cole Palmer being the obvious one to point out, signing for the Blues for around £40m from Manchester City, and already scoring 31 goals in 54 appearances for the club.
Some other success stories are Nicolas Jackson, joining for £32m and scoring 21 goals in 52 games for the club, Malo Gusto, who was signed to deputise Reece James, and has found himself becoming a fan favourite, already playing 44 games for the Blues, providing ten assists and totalling 2,966 minutes.
But some of Chelsea’s signings haven’t been as successful, one of them being Mykhailo Mudryk, who was signed from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023, for a fee of around £62m upfront, with add-ons of £27m.
Mudryk's time at Chelsea so far
In his first half-season at the club, Mudryk made 17 appearances for the Blues, providing two assists in his 748 minutes played. In the Ukrainians’ first full season at the club, he made 41 appearances in all competitions, scoring seven goals, providing two assists, and totalling 2,015 minutes played.
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Mudryk has already got more assists this campaign than in his previous two, getting three assists in his first eight appearances (425 minutes).
The 23-year-old is yet to score this season, but he has shown some glimpses, getting into a few good areas, and creating for his teammates.
The speedster has received some huge criticism since joining Chelsea, with even Maresca disgruntled by his lack of consistency, having stated that “you don’t know if it’s one thing or the other thing”, when it comes to what the winger will do.
It doesn’t help when fans know they could have signed someone else in this position, one of the links being Anthony Gordon, who instead moved to Newcastle, and has smashed it there.
The player Chelsea should have signed instead of Mudryk
In August 2022, Chelsea were pressing to sign Gordon from Everton, with ‘high-level’ talks in progress for the English winger, with the Blues reportedly being ready to pay £60m to sign the 21-year-old at the time.
This deal, of course, didn’t happen, despite continued interest from the west Londoners heading into the end of the January window, with Gordon instead sealing a move to Newcastle that month, for around £45m.
Gordon made 78 appearances for Everton, scoring seven goals and providing eight assists, but it was the youngster’s speed and intensity that earned him plaudits, and had teams such as Chelsea and Newcastle interested, having been hailed as “fearless” by pundit Alan Shearer.
Since his move to the Magpies, the 23-year-old has made 73 appearances, scoring 15 goals and providing 11 assists, already showing his output levels are increasing with experience and reps.
According to reports from GIVEMESPORT, Newcastle have now slapped a £100m price tag on their star winger, calling the player ‘untouchable’ despite interest from Liverpool. But as the England international continues to go from strength to strength, the likelihood of another club testing the waters soon will keep rising.
Gordon vs Mudryk comparison
Now these two already have comparison links from the very first day, as Mudryk clocked a 36.63km/h top speed against Liverpool at Anfield, on his debut, beating Gordon’s 36.61km/h top speed for that season. But how do the two speedsters compare in other metrics away from speed?
Stats (per 90 mins)
Gordon
Mudryk
Goals
0.34
0.29
Assists
0.31
0.11
xG
0.32
0.25
xAG
0.25
0.23
Progressive Carries
4.30
5.26
Progressive Passes
3.15
2.57
Shot Total
2.49
2.00
Shots on Target
0.90
0.69
Key Passes
1.78
1.83
Shot-Creating Actions
4.45
3.43
Successful Take-Ons
1.68
2.23
From their first full seasons at their clubs, Gordon massively outperformed Mudryk’s metrics, providing more efficiency with output, a higher shot volume (and accuracy), and more creativity. Mudryk, on the other hand, only outperformed Gordon in his carrying metrics, with more progressive carries, and more successful take-ons, as well as making more key passes per 90.
A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.
This isn’t surprising, as Mudryk still has fairly underdeveloped decision-making skills, which affect his output, having fewer goals and assists, but also generating fewer xG for himself and others. However, the Ukrainian does possess brilliant ball striking, an excellent eye for a pass, and an abundance of quality, which still needs to come together fully.
Gordon possibly doesn’t have the same natural talent as Mudryk, but he is an efficient forward, who is relentless in the attacking third, which will force mistakes from the opposition, and give him extra chances to provide goals or assists. His effectiveness both in and out of possession is what makes him so desirable to coaches.
The Englishman has started this campaign in slower fashion, scoring two goals, but not yet providing any assists, in nine appearances and 659 minutes played.
Stats (per 90 mins)
Gordon
Mudryk
Goals
0.20
0.00
Assists
0.00
0.26
xG
0.42
0.00
xAG
0.18
0.58
Progressive Carries
3.64
6.32
Progressive Passes
0.91
3.16
Shot Total
1.62
1.03
Shots on Target
0.81
0.00
Key Passes
2.27
2.11
Shot-Creating Actions
3.64
4.21
Successful Take-Ons
1.67
1.58
Gordon was described as “superb” last season by talent scout Jacek Kulig, but Mudryk is actually much closer in the metrics this season, than he was last season, which is down to a few things, one being Mudryk’s fewer minutes affecting the metrics, but also Gordon’s slower start in terms of output for the team.
The 23-year-old is yet to register an assist and is only generating 0.18 xAG per 90, whereas Mudryk already has 0.26 assists per 90 (three in all competitions), and is generating 0.58 xAG per 90.
Time will tell if Chelsea made the right move going for Mudryk, as he clearly has bags of potential, but some fans and maybe even people at the club could see Gordon as a big missed opportunity.
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