The man keeping Mudryk at Chelsea amid Maresca doubts

Tom Weber

Updated: 27 Sept 2024 19:59 BST
3 min read

Behdad Eghbali is 'desperate' for Mykhailo Mudryk to come good at Chelsea, according to a report.

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The Ukrainian is swiftly becoming one of Chelsea's biggest flop signings. A January 2023 arrival in a €70 million deal that can rise to €100m, Mudryk has been a major disappointment at Stamford Bridge so far.

The 23-year-old has only managed seven goals and six assists in 63 appearances for the Blues and coach Enzo Maresca clearly has doubts about his ability.

The Italian gave Mudryk a rare chance against League Two side Barrow and he played reasonably well, but a solid performance against a fourth-tier outfit won't be enough to convince the head coach - who said that Chelsea had to 'accept the way he is' before the game - to use him more regularly.

Mudryk's only supporter?

However, while Maresca and Chelsea fans appear to be losing faith in the winger, he still has at least one high-profile supporter at Chelsea: co-owner Behdad Eghbali.

At least that is according to talkSPORT, which claims that the Clearlake Capital boss, rather than Todd Boehly, was actually the man who had pushed for Mudryk's signing the most behind the scenes back in late 2022 and early 2023.

It is asserted that Eghbali is 'desperate for Mudryk to come good after leading the charge to sign him,' while the player himself is determined to fight for his future at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea had the chance to offload him in the previous two windows but decided to keep the faith.

Whether they can justify this going forward remains to be seen, but the report confirms that former Shakhtar Donetsk boss Roberto de Zerbi would love to be reunited with a player he previously described as a Ballon d'Or contender at Olympique de Marseille.