If it wasn’t already clear that Mykhailo Mudryk was unlikely to have a role with Chelsea next season then the FA’s decision to charge him with breaching doping rules certainly shows the sort of uphill battle he has. Mudryk has not played since November and remains provisionally suspended from all footballing activities.
On Wednesday, the FA issued an official statement regarding the winger after months of silence. “We can confirm that Mykhailo Mudryk has been charged with Anti-Doping Rule Violations alleging the presence and/or use of a prohibited substance, in terms of Regulations 3 and 4 of The FA’s Anti-Doping Regulations,” a spokesperson said. “As this is an ongoing case, we are not in a position to comment further at this time.”
Mudryk is still awaiting the outcome of his B-sample being tested, which was submitted late last year. In the meantime, he has seen his career stall.
Chelsea have moved on without him, finishing fourth in the Premier League and winning the Conference League. The starting XI that Mudryk last played with includes seven (other than himself) who are not expected to be at Chelsea come the end of this summer.
Axel Disasi, Renato Veiga, and Christopher Nkunku are all free to leave. Marc Guiu could go out on loan, Jadon Sancho has already departed after failing to agree a contract to make his loan from Manchester United permanent, and Cesare Casadei was sold in January.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is far from secure in his position in the squad and has added competition. Take a look at the bench from Mudryk’s last match (against Heidenheim, a game in which he scored a brilliant goal) and the substitutes coming on are mostly headed for an exit.
Joao Felix, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Sam Rak-Sakyi all came on but are among the many whose next steps are away from Stamford Bridge. Mudryk might not be leaving Chelsea but he is currently unable to play regardless.
In November he released a statement denying any knowledge of breaking UEFA regulations after his failed drugs test with a positive trace of having a banned substance in his system. “I can confirm that I have been notified that a sample I provided to The FA contained a banned substance,” he said.
“This has come as a complete shock as I have never knowingly used any banned substances or broken any rules, and am working closely with my team to investigate how this could have happened. I know that I have not done anything wrong and remain hopeful that I will be back on the pitch soon. I cannot say any more now due to the confidentiality of the process, but I will as soon as I can.”
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Chelsea added: “Both the club and Mykhailo fully support The FA’s testing programme, and all our players, including Mykhailo, are regularly tested. Mykhailo has confirmed categorically that he has never knowingly used any banned substances.
“Both Mykhailo and the club will now work with the relevant authorities to establish what has caused the adverse finding. The club will not be commenting any further.”
Mudryk had not been a regular under Enzo Maresca by any means – he played just seven league games with one start and less than 200 minutes prior to the ban – but he was one of the few natural options for the left-wing spot. Although many others can and have filled in, Mudryk was seen, along with Sancho, as being primarily a winger.
Felix, Nkunku, Pedro Neto, Noni Madueke, and eventually Tyrique George all played the role as well, but it was Mudryk and Sancho that Maresca picked out as being his options there in the frontline. Others have continued to cover due to injury, suspension, form, and tactical tweaks, but the reality is that Chelsea have been left without much depth.
It is no surprise that they are looking intently at new wingers in the transfer market. Jamie Gittens is the priority but a host of other names are also being considered.
Given that Mudryk cost Chelsea an initial £62million (potentially rising to £88million with add-ons), there has already been a significant outlay to resolve the left-wing issue. At no point since January 2023, apart from maybe his fleeting cameo debut at Liverpool, has Mudryk ever looked like providing the answer.
When fully fit under Mauricio Pochettino, he was never fully trusted. He has scored important goals and played some big moments but just over 1,500 league minutes and 18 starts tells a story. His appearances had been more and more fleeting.
With a full year under Maresca, his instructions made as simple as it gets – stay high and wide, crash the back post for crosses – there was something to build from. Mudryk had started to show an understanding of the system when used in the Conference League.
This is not a high bar to clear but was important for him to keep playing when microwave minutes in the league did not really make an impact. Now things have changed.
Chelsea are looking at Gittens and Malick Fofana, two players who are four years younger than Mudryk and with top-flight seasons under their belt which eclipses what he has done in England. At £42million each (as a starting point), they are also cheaper.
It was always going to be a priority position this summer. Chelsea could not confidently bank on having Mudryk around and that has become an extra bit harder again.
If he is cleared by the FA and allowed to play again, it will still take Mudryk time to integrate into this Chelsea environment. Gittens and/or Fofana could be in place. It could be someone else instead. Without a specialist senior left-winger, Chelsea did not require much of a push to buy in the summer window – but this might just be all that was needed to get something over the line.
