Chelsea manager Graham Potter has handled winger Mykhailo Mudryk ‘well so far’, according to journalist Dean Jones
The 22-year-old has endured an underwhelming start to his Blues career but has shown glimpses of the top-class potential he displayed on a regular basis for Shakhtar Donetsk.
Chelsea news – Mykhailo Mudryk
According to Sky Sports, Chelsea snapped up Mudryk for £88.5 million in the January transfer window, seeing off fierce competition from Premier League rivals Arsenal.
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And the Ukraine international impressed on his debut when coming off the bench against Liverpool, although he was unable to build on that display.
Mudryk was even hauled off at half-time against Fulham next time out and only lasted around 20 minutes longer on his next league outing in a 1-1 draw with West Ham.
Potter then removed the winter acquisition from the starting XI for Chelsea’s next three top-flight fixtures, leaving him on the bench throughout the victory over Leeds United and the crucial victory at home to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
However, Mudryk featured from the off last time out, recording his first assist for Chelsea as they saw off Leicester City.
What has Jones said about Mudryk?
When asked about Mudryk’s progress, Jones told GMS that he believes Potter has dealt with him well.
He said: “I think that they’ve dealt with him well so far. I think that it would have been difficult knowing the impact he made in his first match when he played against Liverpool, given how good he looked.
“Naturally, there would have been a temptation to keep throwing him out there expecting to see more of the same, but it quickly became obvious that he couldn’t do that.
“And so just taking him out the firing line for a little bit seems to have worked, and pushing him back into the team at the moment when they really needed him; I think was a good idea.”
Does Mudryk deserve more time?
Mudryk signed an eight-and-a-half-year contract worth around £100,000-per-week when he arrived at Stamford Bridge, so naturally a lot was expected of him.
Nevertheless, it was always going to take the rapid attacker time to adapt to his new surroundings given he was previously plying his trade in the Ukrainian top-flight, respectively.
We may not see the best of Mudryk until next season when he has had a full pre-season with Chelsea, and Potter and the fans should, therefore, remain patient with him.
