Arsenal defender, Oleksandr Zinchenko, has revealed his conversation with compatriot Mykhailo Mudryk after he joined chelsea instead in January.
Zinchenko insists he holds no grudge against Mudryk after his Ukraine international teammate snubbed the Premier League leaders.
The Gunners appeared set to break their transfer record in an attempt to secure the services of one of European football’s most highly-rated young forwards.
Mudryk had made no secret of his desire to join the Premier League leaders with a series of less than cryptic social media posts, while he had told Zinchenko’s wife, journalist Vlada Sedan, in a revealing interview that he had dreamed of a move to north London.
As events transpired, Arsenal were unable to agree a fee with Shakhtar Donetsk and their refusal to meet the Ukrainain club’s valuation allowed Chelsea and Todd Boehly an opportunity to swoop.
With Chelsea happy to cede to Skakhtar’s demands, Mudryk found himself with no option but to sign for Chelsea instead, much to Zinchenko’s disappointment.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘I said to him: “It’s gone already, it doesn’t matter what you wanted, what the other guys wanted”.
‘Now you’re a Chelsea player, you signed a long-term contract and you have only one option, only one way: direct and forward.’
