Mudryk compared to club legend Hazard after exciting Chelsea debut

Cameron Smith

• 23 Jan 2023 09:57 GMT
• 3 min read

Chelsea new boy Mykhailo Mudryk has been compared to Blues legend Eden Hazard following his debut for the club against Liverpool.

Mudryk, 22, replaced academy graduate Lewis Hall in the 55th minute at Anfield and made an immediate impact for Graham Potter's side.

In fact, Rangers legend Ally McCoist believes the Ukrainian is better than Hazard in one aspect and thinks the forward could be an excellent addition for Chelsea.

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He told TalkSPORT: "I'm having him. He looks the real deal. I'll tell you what he is, he's a lot quicker than Hazard.

"He is a flying machine. He was on for two minutes and James Milner was chasing him like me at the six-a-side at this moment in time.

"What a turn of pace it was and James [Milner] was just a little bit late with the tackle, got a yellow card. But no, what a cameo for a start, I thought he probably should have won the game actually to tell you the truth."

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He added: "I enjoyed that second half, first half wasn't great and was devoid of any real quality, but I enjoyed the second half. I thought Chelsea played well and could have won the game.

"Liverpool still searching for it, Nunez came on, but they look as though they're just searching for a little bit of form, somebody to trigger them to get them going. But no, Mudryk certainly excited the Chelsea fans."

The Ukraine international was in the middle of a huge transfer saga for several weeks, before Shakhtar Donetsk decided to accept Chelsea's offer despite expectation that Mudryk would join Mikel Arteta's Arsenal.

The deal was completed for €70 million, plus €30m in potential add-ons, with Mudryk becoming Chelsea's fifth January signing at the time. They have since added PSV Eindhoven's Noni Madueke, and are ready to re-enter the race for Enzo Fernandez. Lyon's Malo Gusto is also a target.

What did Graham Potter say?

After Mudryk's debut, Potter was questioned about his new signing and admitted: "That was really good. He’s only been with us a couple of days.

"He will only get better the more he is with us, and the more we understand each other, but promising signs. He will get supporters off their seats. His dribbling action is really high.

"He knows where the goal is. We felt it as the right time to put him in, he is a fit boy and has trained a lot. He’s not played since November so it would have been a risk to play him from the start. I am happy for him to get his first minutes and start his career with us."