Hello, and welcome to Early Doors Football! Today, I am going to keep it simple and just run through some of the main stories over the past couple weeks. With the Premier League festive fixtures having finished, a blockbuster weekend with a selection of great derbies, and a wild January transfer window, there is no shortage of options. Let’s jump straight in!
He’s going where?! : Mudryk’s Ridiculous Transfer Saga
Since the summer, Ukrainian wonderkid Mykhailo Mudryk has been linked with Arsenal in some form or fashion. As we entered the January window, a move seemed near certain, with Mudryk regularly flirting with Arsenal via his Instagram. Arsenal were said to be willing to bid around €100 million (around €20 million being performance related add-ons), so it appeared the transfer would be done any day. Suddenly, news outlets were reporting Chelsea were interested, but many (including myself) quickly dismissed these reports as a briefing from Shakhtar, Mudryk’s club, in order to squeeze a few more euros out of the Gunners. Those reports went quiet for a few days, leading everyone to assume that business had returned to normal.
Suddenly, on January 14th, extremely reputable journalists announced that Paul Winstanley, Chelsea’s director of global transfers and co-owner Behdad Eghbali had flown to Turkey to meet with executives of Shakhtar Donetsk to discuss the move. This sent Chelsea fans into a frenzy, for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it seems pretty clear a midfielder should be the priority. Having had a woeful time with injuries, and a severe lack of quality recently, the Blues could desperately use a fresh midfielder. Secondly, the deal was going to be EXTREMELY expensive, especially for someone with relatively little top-level experience. There is no doubting his talent; simply watch a couple videos of him and you will see immediately that he is an incredibly dangerous player and a lightning quick dribbler, but he is still quite a raw talent.
I imagine most of you know how this story ends; Mudryk came back on the private jet with Eghbali and Winstanley as a soon-to-be Chelsea player. Boehly has really bolstered the attack this window, with two extremely bright, young talents, Joao Felix being the other addition. It appears that despite spending €62 million (plus a potential €26.5 million in add-ons, according to The Athletic) on the Ukrainian, further reinforcements are to come in the midfield. The second half of the window looks like it will be as wild as the first, so I am sure Chelsea aren’t finished.
From a Chelsea perspective, I think it is a really interesting move. There isn’t loads of data available, aside from his handful of appearances in the Champions League, but you only need the eye test to see his quality. He clocked the (tied) fastest top speed in the Champions League, and is an extremely tricky dribbler. The attack really needs a refresh as well, so with Felix and Mudryk added, there is an injection of quality that could give Chelsea the jolt they need.
Arsenal’s perspective is almost just as interesting, even though they missed out on the player. Obviously, the fans will be disappointed to see a target move to a rival, but given how their season is going, I would imagine they can move on from that quickly. The question that everyone is asking is “Do they have an alternate target”? This is the best chance Arsenal have had to win the league in ages, so they will want to attack it properly. Mudryk would have been a statement signing and added a brilliant bit of depth. Sometimes you need to add a bit of quality to keep the current players on their toes, and he would have done exactly that. Having dedicated so much time to Mudryk in particular, it will be interesting to see what they have up their sleeve. They will want to recruit cleverly, but I am not sure if they will have the time to fully explore and research a potential new signing. While they may have taken a loss off the field, they are still flying on it.
Your City is Red: Arsenal and Manchester United Earn Bragging Rights
We were treated to two cracking derbies this past weekend, with the North London Derby and Manchester Derby headlining the fixtures. Arsenal strolled through Spurs, although that does not come as a surprise at this point. Tottenham have been horrid recently, and Arsenal the opposite, so this outcome was expected. There is not much to say about Arsenal; they are simply stunning to watch. Tactically they are so sound, but they have the individual quality to excite anyone who watches. I feel like I have to mention him every time I speak about Arsenal, but Odegaard is absolutely incredible. I reckon he’s been the best midfielder in the league this season, and with everyone in cracking form around him, the attack is deadly. Despite being a Chelsea fan, there is something really satisfying about this Arsenal side. It is great to see Arteta’s project come together after some difficult moments, as it is unusual for a manager to actually get time to truly implement his ideology if it does not come off immediately. You could see his plans fleetingly over the previous seasons, but now it is all coming together. Spurs were incredibly dull. A derby is typically a leveler; regardless of form, you should be able to get up for a derby game and put up a fight. It was the contrary though, with Conte’s men putting in a dismal performance. You have to wonder just how long he will stick around. Normally such a passionate manager, he looks defeated before the matches even starts. He tends to be petulant in post-match interviews, so it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
In the other derby, United had a statement win against their cross-town rivals. The headlines will focus on the offside decision that was missed in Bruno’s equalizer, but it is difficult to say that Untied didn’t deserve something out of this game. Clearly the incorrect decision was made, I think anyone who is looking at the match through an unbiased lens can see that. However, City did very little in the leadup to their first goal, and were underwhelming in the attacking third for the entirety of the match.
I think we have seen some signs of concern for City this season, as it has been fairly frequent that they struggle to break a team down. While Pep’s side can definitely be criticized, I think it is better to praise Manchester United in this instance. Ten Hag has really turned this team around after a disastrous start to the season and has really put his stamp on the side. He benched the captain, ousted one of the largest egos in the sport, and it has really played off. He was rightly criticized at the start of the season, but now, you have to give him and the players the credit they deserve.
Fresh Start: MLS Preseason Begins
After a couple of months off, Major League Soccer is finally returning! I’ve found myself really looking forward to this upcoming season, more than usual in fact. The level of the league has continued to rise over the past years, so it has become more interesting to watch from a personal perspective. One of the best parts of the league is how much youth plays; it has become a wonderful platform for younger players to prove themselves and get worldwide attention.
Prior to the season kicking off, we have seen some youngsters make the move to Europe already. Jhon Duran of Chicago Fire is off to Aston Villa for $18 million, after putting up 11 goal contributions in 27 games. It remains to be seen if the 19 year old Colombian will get a lot of minutes for the Villans, but with Ings and Watkins being injury-prone, it wouldn’t be out of question to see him get a run out. Earlier this window, we saw Paxten Aaronson follow his brother Brendan to Europe, joining Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt for $4 million up front. Only 19 years old, my assumption was that we would see him go on loan to a more developmental league like the Jupiler Pro League (Belgium) or the Eredivisie (Netherlands), but he has already played minutes in friendlies leading up to the Bundesliga’s return. It seems likely he stays, so it will be fascinating to see what sort of involvement we have.
I plan on watching more MLS this year, so expect some pieces on that once the season gets rolling. It will be intriguing to see who breaks out and what teams perform, as there is a lot more turnover in MLS than other leagues.
I will leave it there today! As always, reach out with any feedback or recommendations! Thank you all for reading, have a lovely day!
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