Chelsea are known to trust this model of buying young players and then selling them at a profit if things don't work out at Stamford Bridge.
They have been following this transfer policy for a few years now and have developed into a team who have generated a lot of revenue from player sales.
Generally, they scout top young talents from all across the world and bring them to West London. One such deal happened back in January 2023 when Chelsea signed Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk for a whopping £62m ($83.5m) transfer fee, potentially rising to £89m in add-ons.
He had a slow start to his Chelsea career as he failed to score a single goal in the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
The Ukrainian did much better in the subsequent campaign as he scored seven goals in 41 matches but was still short of fulfilling expectations for a player who was signed a steep transfer fee.
His career turned upside down when he was charged by the FA for failing a doping test and was suspended last year after testing positive for a banned substance meldonium.
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Following an investigation on the matter, Mudryk was formally charged which also forced Chelsea to issue a formal statement regarding the player and his status.
The 24-year-old could face a potential four-year ban from football putting his career in jeopardy and therefore according to a report via Marca, the Ukrainian is contemplating a switch to athletics.
He reportedly has been training with Ukrainian athletes and has a desire of competing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as a sprinter.
Why moving to athletics makes sense for Mykhailo Mudryk?
Mudryk is reportedly working hard with former Olympians, but the 24-year-old needs to meet the World Athletics' minimum requirement and also pass the Ukranian trials before thinking about the Olympics.
Overall, with the amount of uncertainty around his footballing career, it is a great decision for Mudryk to pursue athletics as he has a natural talent for sprints.
He was easily one of the fastest footballers in the Premier League during his time at Chelsea. He clocked a speed of 36.63 km/h in his Chelsea debut against Liverpool. In the following season, his highest speed was 35.79 km/h.
Therefore, he is naturally fast and just needs to get used to a few things that are different for sprinters than footballers. He also needs to sort out his doping issue as these tests in athletics are far stricter than in football.
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