Tottenham Hijacks Mudryk Deal Leaving Leeds Scrambling

Tottenham have stormed ahead of Leeds United in the race for Mykhailo Mudryk, leaving Daniel Farke’s side searching for alternatives in the final hours of the transfer window.

The Chelsea winger is set to undergo a medical at Spurs after the north London club moved decisively to jump the queue. Leeds had been heavily linked with the Ukrainian, with a wide attacker sitting near the top of Farke’s wish list going into deadline day.

Instead, the Elland Road hierarchy now watch on as a deal they had circled slips away.

Spurs swoop, Leeds stall

Tottenham’s move has been described as a classic late-window hijack. Transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano reported that Spurs have agreed a paid loan with Chelsea, with a non-mandatory buy option set at around £75 million.

On X, Romano wrote: “BREAKING: Mykhaylo Mudryk to Tottenham, here we go! Everything agreed also on personal terms. Mudryk joins #THFC on paid loan and also understand there will be a buy option clause not mandatory in the agreement. The Ukrainian will re-join De Zerbi.”

The wording suggests Roberto De Zerbi, now in charge at Spurs, has been a driving force behind the move, keen to work again with a player he knows well.

Tottenham are also preparing medicals for Tosin Adarabioyo, with the defender and Mudryk both set to arrive from London rivals Chelsea in a double swoop that underlines Spurs’ aggressive summer.

A complicated comeback

Mudryk’s story carries more baggage than most late-window deals. The 25-year-old was hit with a four-year suspension in 2024 after failing a drug test that showed a low concentration of the banned substance meldonium.

He has not played since November of that year, his career effectively frozen while the case dragged on. That changed at the end of last month, when his doping ban was resolved on appeal and he was cleared to return.

Now, his route back to elite football looks set to run through north London, not West Yorkshire.

Leeds’ wide men on notice

For Leeds, missing out on Mudryk could reshape the pecking order on the flanks. The blow to their recruitment plans may open the door for two Welsh internationals to stake a stronger claim.

Harry Wilson, signed on a free from Fulham in the summer, will sense an opportunity to lock down a starting berth. On the opposite wing, Daniel James enters the season after a bruising 18 months disrupted by injuries and inconsistency, but with a clear path to minutes if he can rediscover his best form.

They are not being given any guarantees. Farke remains determined to add firepower in the final third before the 11pm deadline, and that stance keeps every attacker in the squad under pressure.

Wilfried Gnonto’s situation only sharpens that tension. The Italian is expected to leave for Fiorentina, but Leeds will only sign off on the move if a replacement is lined up in time. No arrival, no exit.

Time ticking at Elland Road

Leeds finished 14th in the Premier League last season, a position that has clearly not satisfied anyone at Elland Road. The plan this summer was to arm Farke with more cutting edge, more pace, more goals from wide areas.

Mudryk was one of the names earmarked to help deliver that shift. Now he is packing his bags for Tottenham instead.

With the window closing at 11pm, Leeds are back in the familiar late-August scramble: targets changing, phones buzzing, contingencies dusted off. The question is no longer whether they can land Mudryk.

It is whether they can find anyone, in these final hours, who moves the needle enough to change the course of their season.