This time a year ago, Raheem Sterling had been a Chelsea player for a year, and Mykhailo Mudryk for 6 months.
Neither had really pulled up any trees, but the hope was that under a new manager, with an exciting new system in place, both (or at least one of the two) could really step things up and fulfil their potential.
In the end, despite a couple of bright moments from each, they both disappointed for the most part. Here we are in the summer of 2024, and you can imagine what the story is…
Chelsea will try again with wide disappointments
Ben Jacobs’ big piece for GIVEMESPORT claims that the Blues are still keen on a right winger, having seen attempts to sign Michael Olise earlier in the summer fall flat. But according to them, they’re sorted on the left, in large part because Sterling and Mudryk are still on the books (and perhaps more importantly, seem impossible to get rid of without realising huge losses).
“Raheem Sterling wants to stay at Chelsea and is viewed as a profile that fits Enzo Maresca’s style,” Jacobs wrote.
“Mykhailo Mudryk has looked fit and energised during pre-season.”
Hmm. Fit and energised is all well and good. What we’d be more interested in is good performances, lots of goals and some quality on and off the ball. It seems that once against we’re trying to convince ourselves that these two can be the future.
We can let ourselves dream though – Sterling racked up great numbers at Man City, and could yet do that again if he’s playing the perfect role in a functional team. Mudryk has never played well consistently – but has such extreme pace that there’s always a chance he can be made more effective.
The bar is low for these guys, and it seems they’ll have a whole season to impress once again.
