Frank Lampard targets shock deal for £62m Chelsea star

Coventry City boss and Chelsea legend Frank Lampard (Picture: Getty)

Frank Lampard ’s Coventry City are one of three Premier League clubs to express interest in signing Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk , according to reports.

Mudryk has joined Chelsea’s pre-season tour after resolving his doping case with the Football Association .

The Ukraine international has not been allowed to play since November 2024 after being provisionally suspended for returning an ‘adverse finding’ for the banned substance meldonium .

The FA ended its anti-doping proceedings after Mudryk accepted breaching anti-doping rules and agreed to a suspension equal to the one year and eight months already served.

New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso said he was ‘very happy’ to welcome Mudryk back into his squad but that it was ‘too early’ to determine his performance levels .

A loan move seems likely to give Mudryk the chance to get regular minutes and get back to the form that earned him a £62m move to Stamford Bridge .

The overall cost of the transfer was £89m but several performance-related add-ons have not been activated given Mudryk has scored just five Premier League goals for the Blues.

Mykhailo Mudryk is free to feature for Chelsea (Picture: AP)

A number of Premier League and European clubs have expressed interest in signing Mudryk on loan, with Lampard hoping to strike a deal with his former club as he prepares for Coventry’s return to the top-flight.

Two other unnamed Premier League clubs have registered interest, according to The Sun , while three Europeans teams are keen to sign Mudryk on loan.

Reacting to his imminent comeback, Mudryk said he was ‘grateful’ to be able to return to playing after ‘the most difficult period’ of his career.

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‘As I have always maintained from the outset of this case, I have never knowingly or intentionally taken any banned substance,’ he added.

Chelsea said the club were ‘pleased that the matter has now reached a conclusion which allows him to return to football with immediate effect’.

A statement added: ‘We have always supported Misha throughout this process while fully respecting the integrity of the anti-doping system and the legal process.’

Lampard is preparing for Coventry’s Premier League return (Picture: Getty)

Discussing the club’s plan for Mudryk, new boss Alonso said: ‘It’s too early to tell how he is in terms of fitness, in terms of the game time you need to be involved again, so it’s still too early to tell.

‘But we are happy for him, especially for him, because we are probably not able to understand what he has been through during this time and how he feels at the moment with the things he has had to cope with.

‘We expect that it will take time. He trained on his own every day, and I think it had to be really, really hard because he wanted to play football, he wanted to be part of a team, and he was not allowed to do that for such a long time.

‘Afterwards we will see if it’s quicker or slower, but we need to be aware of that. We want him to feel part of the team. Once he is with us, we will see how things develop.’

It remains to be seen whether Mudryk features in one of Chelsea’s upcoming pre-season friendlies against Juventus or AC Milan.

Lampard’s Coventry, meanwhile, will mark their long-awaited Premier League return against champions Arsenal on August 21.