Mykhailo Mudryk has a chance to show his new country of residence what he can do when he lines up for Ukraine at Wembley on Sunday.
The talented 22-year-old forward has not yet lived up the hype in England since he joined Chelsea for £89million in January. He has no goals and just one assist in seven appearances and has played just 333 minutes out of a possible 900 available under Graham Potter.
But Mudryk is set to start against England and hopes to show what the fuss is all about.
Mudryk has always been loved in Ukraine, famous for his Instagram tricks and comedy videos before he made his Shakhtar Donetsk debut aged 17 in 2018. Both he and best friend Georgy Sudakov also went viral in the Shakhtar academy after they successfully recreated Johan Cruyff’s famous pass penalty that Thierry Henry and Robert Pires botched in 2005.
For years in his homeland, Mudryk has been known as the Ukrainian Neymar.
“He was always confident when we spoke and wanted to reach the top,” says his former Shakhtar Under-17s coach Igor Leonov.
“He went crazy for Neymar, copied his feints and imitated him. I told him; ‘Why are you obsessed with Neymar? You are Mudryk, you will soon be better’.”
After making his Shakhtar debut, Mudryk struggled on loan at Arsenal Kyiv where he suffered relegation. He then dropped back down to the Shakhtar academy before restarting his senior career on loan at Desna Chernigiv under coach Oleksandr Ryabokon.
“We needed an aggressive, fast, dribbling, young left winger,” says Ryabokon. “He was humble and calm, training from dawn until dusk. He grew physically under me and gained confidence in each match.
“I don’t like the Neymar comparisons because, at his best, I think he is more like [Gabriel] Martinelli, Vinicius [Junior] or [Kylian] Mbappe. He used his speed and technique to create goals from nothing.
“His move to Chelsea puts a lot of pressure on him so I just hope his coach, team-mates and supporters will help him as Shakhtar did.”
Mudryk did all he could to prepare for life in the Premier League and, long before his Chelsea move, was learning English and building his leg muscles with a personal trainer.
But, with fewer than 100 senior games under his belt, he has so far struggled to justify his price tag during a difficult period at Chelsea.
“Arsenal would have suited him more in my opinion,” says Leonov. "He will give Chelsea a lot but they are building a new team, at Arsenal he would have just slotted in.”
But Mudryk will be comfortable in his surroundings with Ukraine - and England should beware.
