Tottenham's chances of triggering Mykhailo Mudryk option-to-buy revealed

Mykhailo Mudryk will have to lead Tottenham Hotspur to the Premier League title and score 25 goals along the way to convince them to trigger his £75million option to buy.

That is according to former senior Tottenham scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.

The 25-year-old joined the club from Chelsea on transfer deadline day, signing for a season-long loan.

Mudryk made his debut off the bench as Tottenham drew 0-0 with Nottingham Forest on Saturday, marking his first competitive minutes since November 2024 after spending 20 month suspended for testing positive for a banned substance.

The winger, who joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2023 in deal worth up to £88.5m, had been linked to the likes of Leeds United and Strasbourg.

But in the final days of the window, Cody Gakpo became unattainable for Tottenham and Mudryk emerged as an alternative option.

Mykhailo Mudryk told what he needs to do to secure permanent Tottenham move

In Mudryk's 16 minutes back on the pitch, he made one pass, was fouled once, won one duel and took four touches.

It was always expected that the winger would be incredibly rusty after so long out of the game, but it is hoped that he can return to sharpness quickly.

The Ukraine international's one full season for Chelsea saw him score seven goals and provide two assists across all competitions, but there was promise.

"Good luck with that. I mean, £75m? He hasn't played football for two years, has he? Well, I wouldn't put it past Tottenham to waste £75m again," King told Football Insider.

"Because they've been wasting money all the last three years. They've been bringing in players with big names, and obviously, it looks as though the management or the coaching staff can't handle these big name players. 

"They certainly ain't getting the performance from them. Mudryk, never fancied him at all."

Asked about prior links to Arsenal, King said: "I could not see him fitting in to an Arsenal football team. Just couldn't see it. I think a lot of that was hype that had come from the agents. Feeding newspapers with stories that they would like to happen, but they never would.

"I couldn't believe the fellow. I mean, it's a bit like when Chelsea signed [Andriy] Shevchenko. Nobody wanted him at the football club apart from [Roman] Abramovich.

"And to be fair, he had more about him than what this fellow's got. As I say, good luck with that loan signing. And I'll tell you what, he's got to put in some performances if they're going to pay £75m for him. He's got to win them the Premier League. He's certainly got to score 25 goals."

What has Roberto De Zerbi said about Mudryk?

De Zerbi is the man tasked with transforming Mudryk from a football outcast back into a potentially big-money player.

"He’s not ready yet," the Italian said on Saturday. "He’s working to reach the best physical condition. He needs time, he needs work.

"In that position, we have Mathys Tel, big potential. But also Mathys takes too many wrong decisions, and Mudryk.

"So, two big players, two big potential players. But anyway, if we want to score, I think [Omar] Marmoush has 15 goals."