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Kepa Arrizabalaga hopes “big player” Mykhaylo Mudryk can help boost Chelsea’s stuttering season following his £88.5million move from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Mudryk was confirmed as a Chelsea player in the 22nd minute of their win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.
He was then introduced to the crowd at half-time and watched Chelsea beat Palace to ease some of the pressure on Graham Potter.
Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa hopes Mudryk can breathe new life into their season.
Kepa said: “We saw him arrive during half time because we were in the changing room. We are happy to have him. He is a big player who comes here to help and all the best to him. We hope they can all help our season everyone wants that.
“We hope the new players keep making solid debuts like Joao [Felix] and Benoit [Badiashile]. Now Mudryk has come in. They are coming to help, strengthen the team and help us win every game.
“We have the Champions League coming in February. It is in our head that we are not in the cups so it is about Premier League and Champions League. We have to go step-by-step, improve and make our team stronger to fight for everything.”
Kepa hopes Chelsea can draw a line under their recent bad run and start afresh after their victory over Palace. The Blues won just their second match in 10 games, remaining in 10th place and 10 points off fourth-placed Manchester United who have a game in hand.
The win gives some breathing space after three straight defeats. However, it gives only temporary respite to under-fire players and the increasingly criticised manager Potter.
Kai Havertz put Chelsea ahead in the second half but the Blues had to dig in as Palace threatened an equaliser and it took some fine saves from Kepa to deny the Eagles a point. Chelsea are now level on points with ninth-placed Liverpool and face a trip to Anfield in the lunchtime kick-off on Saturday.
Kepa insists the players are behind the manager and are receptive to his ideas.
“I think we are all on the same page,” he said. “Everyone is trying their best but sometimes things like the small details make things go in the other direction.
“At the moment, what we have to do is work, stay together in the same direction and improve. We have a lot of injuries so we are always adjusting in every game. We need to try to push.”