Chelsea told to avoid Salah mistake with 'phenomenal' Mudryk

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 29 Sept 2023 07:34 BST
• 4 min read

Chelsea have been told to persist with Mykhailo Mudryk, despite his disappointing form since joining the club from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2022.

Mudryk has featured 23 times for the Blues under three different managers, and yet none has been able to get the best out of the Ukraine international winger yet. This has led to rumours that he could leave the club on loan.

The 22-year-old, who is under contract at Chelsea until 2031, has two assists and has yet to score his first goal for the club, casting doubt over the wisdom of fighting Arsenal so hard to pay an initial €70 million for his services.

ROMANO BOMB! Man Utd and Chelsea eye 17-year-old wonderkid

Indeed, for a long period it seemed that Mudryk would be heading to the Emirates Stadium, and some fans now wish that was the path his career had taken.

Chelsea, though, have been told not to judge him too rashly and offload him prematurely, as the club has infamously done with young players such as Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne in the past. Indeed, Romelu Lukaku is another who falls into this category, even if he has flopped since making a €113m return from Inter Milan.

ANALYSIS: Who should Mudryk join as Chelsea eye loan move for €70m star?

’Mudryk is phenomenal’

“There's a reason why Arsenal wanted Mudryk - he's phenomenal,” former Chelsea Player of the Year Pat Nevin told OLBG. “His pace is ridiculous and so are his skills.

“He had different problems to everyone else as he was a Ukrainian lad coming into a new country. There was also a massive transfer fee hanging over him, though the pressure is slightly off now due to the other fees Chelsea have paid.

“I think he has the potential to be a great forward and a great creator. He came into a side that wasn't playing well, but he didn't make it easy for himself. His numbers last season were not good.

“I always look at the underlying player and I don't think Chelsea want to lose him. Chelsea know better than anyone that if you let a player go, they can be world-class somewhere else.

“He came in in January, which is a tough time for players to arrive. It's early days this season, and I still have great hopes for Mudryk when the team starts clicking. That could be later this season or next season. He has all the qualities that defenders hate playing against.

“If Chelsea did cut their losses, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him shine somewhere else. He's still only 22.”

Mudryk has started Chelsea’s last three matches and will hope to do so again on Monday, when the Blues visit Fulham in Premier League action.