By Samuel Akpan with agency report
Chelsea has taken away Mykhailo Mudryk’s iconic No. 10 shirt, assigning it to Cole Palmer ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
Mudryk, who joined Chelsea for £89m from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023, has not played for the Blues since November after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium.
The Ukrainian winger has been provisionally suspended since December and has maintained his innocence, stating, “I know I have not done anything wrong and remain hopeful I will be back on the pitch soon.”
In a statement, Chelsea confirmed the shirt number change, saying, “Cole Palmer will move to the No.10 shirt ahead of our 2025/26 campaign, starting from the FIFA Club World Cup.”
Palmer, who has worn the No.20 shirt since signing from Manchester City in September 2023, will don the No.10 jersey for the first time when Chelsea faces Los Angeles FC in Atlanta on June 16.
Mudryk is expected to be assigned a new shirt number ahead of the start of next season.
The shirt number change comes after a rare sighting of Mudryk partying with the Chelsea squad following their Conference League final win over Real Betis.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was unaware of Mudryk’s presence in Poland for the match, but the 24-year-old was pictured with Enzo Fernandez, wearing a winners’ medal after scoring three goals in four appearances in the competition earlier in the season.
Mudryk’s future at Chelsea remains uncertain, with the player facing a potential lengthy ban.
The winger has kept a relatively low profile since his failed drugs test, only breaking his silence on social media in April with a single tear emoji in response to a Chelsea post highlighting his goal against Fulham last season.
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