Chelsea have received multiple approaches for Mykhailo Mudryk since news broke of his return to football, including three from Premier League clubs, sources have told Daily Mail Sport.
Coventry City, managed by Frank Lampard, who worked with Mudryk at Stamford Bridge in 2023, are believed to be among the clubs that have enquired about the winger.
All options remain open between Mudryk and Chelsea this summer, including the possibility of sending him out on loan following his sudden comeback from a doping suspension.
Alonso to assess winger in Hong Kong
The current plan is for the 25-year-old Ukrainian to be assessed by head coach Xabi Alonso, having travelled to Hong Kong to join his team-mates on their pre-season tour.
Chelsea want to establish where his performance levels stand, given the Ukraine international has not featured in competitive football since November 2024. His last appearance came in a Conference League win away at Heidenheim, where he scored before disappearing from the squad following his failed test.
Another option this summer would be to loan Mudryk to Strasbourg, Chelsea's sister club in France's Ligue 1, which would allow him to remain under the BlueCo umbrella.
Wingers are in high demand in the current transfer window, which may explain the level of interest in Mudryk's comeback despite uncertainty over his current fitness. His potential was once rated so highly that Chelsea paid £89million to sign him from Shakhtar Donetsk.
A pleasant surprise for Alonso
Mudryk is effectively a bonus arrival for Chelsea this summer. Alonso told reporters after Chelsea's pre-season defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in Sydney that the news of Mudryk's eligibility came as a pleasant surprise.
He is set to train under Alonso with the Chelsea squad in Hong Kong, where the club will play a friendly against Juventus. Further games in Indonesia and Malaysia will follow before Chelsea return to London to host Real Sociedad at Stamford Bridge.
Should Mudryk be deemed ready to feature in that fixture, it would mark his first appearance at Stamford Bridge since playing against Arsenal in the Premier League there in November 2024. Chelsea beat Mikel Arteta's Arsenal to sign Mudryk in January 2023.
WADA threshold change opened door to return
Mudryk's return to football was made possible by a change in how the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) measures meldonium, the substance for which he tested positive.
WADA raised the threshold at which a player is deemed to have exceeded the minimum reporting level, from 120 to 150 per cent. Had Mudryk's sample been analysed under the new threshold, he would not have been found in violation of anti-doping rules.
Mudryk has since reached a resolution with WADA and the Football Association, under which he has effectively been deemed to have served his time for the violation.
Sources described his suspension as long and lonely. He trained almost daily throughout the ban in the hope of returning, including renting the pitch at non-League club Uxbridge's stadium to hold sessions with a private trainer.
Chelsea have been highly sympathetic to Mudryk's situation, having believed his consistent claims of innocence since he first tested positive. The positive test is believed to have occurred while he was on international duty with Ukraine in September 2024, and he was informed of the failed test after Chelsea's match against Heidenheim that November.
