Chelsea have been handed their first look at Mykhaylo Mudryk in action since his £87million move to Stamford Bridge from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Mudryk completed his mega-money transfer to the Blues over the weekend and has now featured in his first training session at his new club. Graham Potter's side are preparing to face Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, with both sides having endured disappointing seasons.
Potter is hoping that star signing Mudryk can provide the boost his team desperately needs. The attacker will be in contention to feature against the Reds, taking part in his first training session at the club's facility in Cobham on Wednesday.
Wearing a hat, gloves, shorts and long sleeve training top, Mudryk took part in the drills delivered by Potter's coaching team. The Ukrainian was joined in the session by Reece James and Ben Chilwell, both of whom are stepping up their returns from injury.
It is the first time since September that Potter has had a clear week to work with his full squad. Postponements following the death of Queen Elizabeth II have meant that the Blues have played in every midweek since the start of October, with Potter keen to utilise his new-found time.
"Time is valuable for us, and we will use it as best we can. We walked into the washing machine in terms of games, with the condensed schedule before a World Cup, it was a unique situation," he told Chelsea's club media.
HAVE YOUR SAY! What should be Chelsea's starting line-up against Liverpool? Comment below.
"As we went along key players kept dropping away and it was a struggle for stability and the confidence stability brings. You learn a lot from that, even though it’s not nice.
"I understand the timescales people work to are very short these days, but in the end, we will just keep working and keep trying to improve."
Mudryk is one of five players who Chelsea have already signed this month, joining David Fofana, Joao Felix, Benoit Badiashile and Andrey Santos. But Potter is wary of adding more players to what is already looking like a bloated squad.
"We have to be careful. It’s a challenge for us. You need a squad that’s balanced with the right amount of competition. We have 10 or 11 players unavailable," the Chelsea boss added.
"You obviously can’t just sign players to replace those, because in the end, you have a squad of 30, and that’s a problem. You have to do the right thing, and look at what the right solutions are.
"Sometimes they are not aligned completely as you would like them because the January window is complicated. There is a period of transition and you have to stabilise things and work to support the club as best you can."
