Tottenham news: How Spurs beat Leeds to Chelsea loanee Mudryk

Mykhailo Mudryk became the first player to move from Chelsea to Tottenham in 17 years and the first loanee to join Spurs from Chelsea since 1992.

The Ukraine international, 25, has since returned to action, making his first competitive appearance in more than 21 months as a substitute in Roberto de Zerbi's side against Nottingham Forest this weekend.

Upon joining, Mudryk reiterated that De Zerbi, who managed him at Shakhtar Donetsk, was his "football father".

However, a move to north London was not a realistic option until the last few days of the window.

Spurs had previously explored moves for Liverpool's Cody Gakpo and then-Everton forward Iliman Ndiaye, with Richarlison set to move in the opposite direction to the Toffees.

However, Liverpool opted to keep Gakpo, while neither Ndiaye nor Richarlison agreed personal terms despite the clubs reaching an agreement. Ndiaye ultimately joined Manchester City instead.

Meanwhile, Leeds United were favourites to sign Mudryk.

Their proposed deal included a loan fee, full wage coverage and penalties if the attacker was not played.

Leeds had at least two offers rejected by Chelsea during talks that lasted more than two weeks, but remained hopeful of completing a deal because they were Mudryk's preferred destination.

Brentford also explored the possibility of signing Mudryk, having previously attempted to acquire him in 2022, but wanted an affordable option-to-buy clause that Chelsea were unwilling to include.

Leeds were blindsided when Chelsea and Spurs held club-to-club talks over deals for both Mudryk and Tosin Adarabioyo on the same day, helping reduce the size of Chelsea's squad at a crucial stage of the window.

The agreement for Mudryk also included a £75m option to buy. While that option is considered unlikely to be exercised, it is expected to establish a high benchmark for any asking price should Chelsea decide to sell the attacker next summer.

Ultimately, the Yorkshire club instead completed a deal for Eintracht Frankfurt attacker Jean-Matteo Bahoya, using an extended deal-sheet deadline to secure an initial loan move with an obligation to buy, just before the window shut.

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