- 17 hours ago
Carpool Chelsea: Did Corden recommend MASSIVE flop Mudryk?
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 13 Apr 2023 13:31 BST
- 4 min read
There was a glaring omission from Chelsea’s starting XI against Real Madrid in the Champions League at the Bernabeu.
Mykhailo Mudryk might have had a tough start to life at Stamford Bridge, posting just one assist in the 10 matches and 424 minutes he has played for the Blues since arriving from Shakhtar Donetsk in January, but the way that Frank Lampard set his side up in the Spanish capital should have suited the Ukraine international perfectly.
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For the first 20 minutes, before Madrid got a grip on the game through Karim Benzema’s tap in, Chelsea matched their opponents. Lampard appeared to have found a set up capable of hurting Madrid on the break, with Joao Felix spurning an excellent early chance and Raheem Sterling also menacing.
Strong, quick and a specialist in running into space, this should have been Mudryk’s type of night... if Lampard felt he was up to the level. Instead, all that was seen of the Ukraine international were a few tricks in the pre-match warm up and a few gentle stretches on the sidelines.
Mudryk not living up to the hype
For a player to have been signed for €70 million – and that’s before potential bonuses – to have fallen out of the picture quite so quickly is an alarming condemnation of his form presently.
For those who argue that he needs time: you don’t spend so lavishly without expecting some type of immediate impact. Such big signings will not always work, of course, but this one in particular already appears to have been a shot in the dark based upon hype and one good year in a seriously weakened Ukrainian league.
Mudryk's Estimated Transfer Value (ETV), after all, is just €36 million.
It is also a jarring indictment of just where Chelsea’s scattergun transfer policy is at. No one needs to be reminded that they fought Arsenal tooth and nail to sign the 22-year-old for one of the most expensive transfer fees in club history, with the Gunners falling out of the bidding as the player’s price became increasingly lavish. Backing down may have provided short-term embarrassment to the Emirates club, but it looks an increasingly shrewd move.
The Blues should have been immune to the PR blitz from Shakhtar prior to the January transfer window. During that period, it was proclaimed Mudryk a future Ballon d’Or winner. Right now, there’s no guarantee that he’ll ever win a prize as prestigious as Chelsea Player of the Month.
Tabloid reports this week suggested that Chelsea owner Todd Boehly asked advice from James Corden before bringing Lampard back as interim boss. It also looks like The Late Late Show host has been in charge of their transfer policy based upon Mudryk’s contribution to the Blues so far.
