Mykhaylo Mudryk has been unable to have much of an impact at Chelsea but, despite having a quiet 18 months, the Ukrainian has been backed to become a leading light in the Premier League.
Gael Clichy believes Mykhaylo Mudryk could return next season and be the Premier League’s best winger despite his difficult start to life at Chelsea.
The Ukrainian is about to finish his first full season at Stamford Bridge but has done little to justify his £89million price tag. Mudryk, like many of his big-money team-mates, has struggled for consistency, scoring just seven times across all competitions.
Mudryk enjoyed an impressive debut cameo at Liverpool almost 18 months ago, but since then he’s rarely hit those levels again. Despite that, Clichy believes the player could justifiably be struggling off the pitch, citing the issues in his homeland, and has tipped him to be a huge hit next term.
He told Ladbrokes: “Mykhaylo Mudryk was about to sign for Arsenal for big money last year, and everyone was thinking he was going to come in and change the team completely, with his pace, and how good he looked with the ball at his feet, and everything like that. Then, you look at the year or so he’s had with Chelsea and some people might think, ‘thank God we didn’t buy him’.
Does it mean the player is not performing? Maybe he’ll turn up next season. We have to think about other things, off the pitch, such as what’s happening with him at home, coming from a place where things are really tough right now. Sometimes, we forget about this kind of thing and just focus on what the guy is doing on the pitch.
“Clichy added: “I wouldn’t be surprised is Mudryk comes out next season and becomes the best winger in the Premier League, because he’s absolutely got all of the attributes which you want in a winger.
“Mauricio Pochettino has continued to keep faith with Mudryk, who has endured his injury woes this term. As in every position, Chelsea are not short of options which only increases the competition for places. Pochettino though is adamant the Ukraine winger will become a huge contributor.
He said: “As a player he knows he needs to keep improving. He’s still young and he is going to improve, because he has the quality. He’s a player that in his evolution is doing really well and we are so happy. For sure with time he’s going to be a very important player. He’s already an important player but he’s going to improve a lot because the potential is massive.”
