Mykahilo Mudryk joined Chelsea in January 2023 for an initial £62.5m after an intense transfer saga with Arsenal.
It was clear that the Ukrainian was one of the most exciting young wingers in Europe with his performances in the Champions League group stage for Shakhtar Donetsk catching the eye including a goal and two assists against RB Leipizig and a standing ovation in Real Madrid’s iconic Bernabeu stadium.
The 23 year old was already considered a fan favourite after turning his back on rivals Arsenal in favour of a move to Stamford Bridge.
Mudryk gave the Chelsea faithful a lot to be excited about on his debut as a second half substitute against Liverpool at Anfield last season as he caused James Milner and Trent Alexander Arnold all sorts of problems but did miss a couple of big chances.
Despite that it was widely considered a very positive start for the Ukrainian international but it’s fair to say since then things haven’t exactly gone according to plan.
Moving ahead to this season and Mudryk hasn’t started any of Chelsea’s last six games and hasn’t even featured in the last three.
He has scored three goals and registered two assists in 19 appearances this season and although that isn’t terrible it’s still less than Nicolas Jackson and Raheem Sterling who he is competing with for a space on the left wing.
Some fans, pundits and journalists have been very critical of Mudryk which I think is particularly unfair given he’s very rough round the edges and hasn’t been given many opportunities to show what he can do.
He was never going to come in and be an instant success given how inexperienced he is and the step up from the Ukrainian League to the Premier League.
Lets not forget he hasn’t been at Chelsea 18 months and has only completed the full 90 minutes twice but he has shown glimpses of his quality when given the opportunity and a run of games.
It’s vital that Chelsea stick by Mudryk and give these young players the opportunity to develop their talent and become the players the club believe they can be.
Mudryk needs to show more but he also needs the opportunities to do so, I for one won’t be giving up on him.
