‘He can’t kick a football’ - Mudryk slammed for Chelsea performances

Carlo Garganese

• 10 Jan 2024 15:32 GMT
• 3 min read

Craig Burley has slammed the performances of Mykhailo Mudryk, sniping that the Chelsea winger can only run and nothing else.

Mudryk joined Chelsea for €100 million in January 2023 from Shakhtar Donetsk after the Blues hijacked Arsenal's deal for the Ukrainian winger.

However, Mudryk has flopped badly at Stamford Bridge.

His latest disappointing performance came on Tuesday as Chelsea were beaten 1-0 by Championship side Middlesbrough in the first leg of the League Cup semi final.

Mudryk was introduced in the second half but struggled to make an impact.

What did Burley say?

“Chelsea paid £88m (€100m) for Mykhailo Mudryk. Arsenal were looking at him,” Burley said on ESPN.

“He can’t cross the ball. He can run. He can probably beat 99.9 per cent of the planet over 100 metres.

“But there is a little white round thing that rolls around that you have got to hit at some point.

“Either put it in the back of the net or put a decent cross in. He can’t do that.”

Mudryk form at Chelsea

He has managed just four goals and three assists in 38 appearances amidst a string of poor performances.

Mudryk’s poor form resulted in him dropping down the attacking pecking order, with manager Mauricio Pochettino publicly stating that the player still must improve in a number of areas.

Chelsea are enduring yet another dreadful season. They are tenth in the Premier League, 12 points behind Arsenal in fourth and with little chance of qualifying for the Champions League.

Last season, the Blues finished 12th in the Premier League.

All this has come since Todd Boehly bought the club and spent over €1 billion in the last 18 months on new players.

Chelsea are out of Europe so their only hope of success is in the League Cup and FA Cup.