Mykhailo Mudryk, 24, has gone from bright future to forced exile. In January 2023, the Ukrainian winger joined Chelsea for a reported cost of £62 million, with Shakhtar Donetsk potentially earning €30 million in performance add-ons.
Since Joining the Blues, Mudryk made 73 appearances in all competitions, scoring 10 goals and 11 assists. He scored 5 goals and 6 assists in 53 Premier League outings, a disappointing performance for a talented young winger.
Under Managers Graham Potter, Frank Lampard, Mauricio Pochettino, and Enzo Maresca, Mudryk showed flashes of brilliance. Maresca called his growth “slow but happening” after he scored and assisted in a Conference League win over Panathinaikos. Just a handful of first-team starts in 2023–2024, five Premier League goals, and little impact on results.
In the 2024-25 season, Mudryk showed signs of improvement. He scored twice in the UEFA Conference League group stage and crucially assisted Chelsea’s FA Cup third-round triumph over Blackburn Rovers. His form was variable, and he never held a starting spot.
His final official appearance came in March 2025 in a 2–0 win over Sheffield United, where he played just 17 minutes off the bench.
Failed drug test
A failed drug test in early 2025 found meldonium, a banned performance-enhancing substance, in Mudryk’s blood stream. After widespread usage in Eastern European sports, meldonium, intended to increase endurance and recovery, was banned in 2016.
Mudryk was provisionally suspended by the FA in April 2025 after the positive sample. The FA charged him with doping on June 18th 2025.
After the player was banned from first-team training, Chelsea reassigned his squad number and removed his image from promotional materials.
The player challenged the suspension with Morgan Sports Law, a leading sports arbitration agency, the same agency that represented Paul Pogba denying knowingly taking the drug. The investigation is ongoing, however, his legal team said contaminated supplements or mislabeled prescription caused the test result. B-sample analysis and FA disciplinary panel judgment determine the outcome.
He potentially might face a four-year ban for purposeful doping, but if the tribunal recognizes mitigating factors like unintentional ingestion or ignorance, the ban could be lowered.
Chelsea under fan scrutiny and subpar performances have moved on from the Ukrainian forward, the failing test represents the lowest point of a precipitous fall from grace and could define his career if he cannot clear his name. Shakhtar Donetsk may lose €30 million in performance-based bonuses if Mudryk would never play again.
Chelsea have brought in replacements such as Jamie Gittens, and are still looking to fill the left wing void as they are monitoring the situation with Manchester United’s want-away winger Alejandro Garnacho.
