Mykhailo Mudryk's January move to Chelsea was one of the biggest deals of the winter transfer window. Not only did the Blues complete the major negotiations in one day with Mudryk flying to west London to complete the move by nightfall, but also because it was completed directly under the noses of Arsenal.
The Gunners had outlined the 22-year-old as their number one target and saw many proposals rejected by Shakhtar Donetsk, who were holding out for a package deal close to €100million, before Chelsea swooped in and met their demands. £62million was paid up front to acquire his services with £26m available in potential add-ons with a full £88million deal seeing Chelsea complete a major transfer hijack.
Just over two months on from Mudryk's Chelsea debut against Liverpool at Anfield, it is fair to say in the short-term, the move is yet to take off. The Ukrainian international has been forced to mostly settle for cameo appearances from the bench and while he impressed in the Premier League win over Leicester on March 11, Mudryk was an unused substitute the following weekend.
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"He'll get better and better," Chelsea boss Graham Potter said after the away victory over Leicester. "He's a young player that hasn't that much experience, so each game he'll get better and better. His attitude is fantastic, he wants to help the team and work with the team. I'm delighted he got an assist and helped us."
With Raheem Sterling still out injured, Mudryk looked set to make two consecutive starts for the first time since mid-February. However, Christian Pulisic was preferred to Mudryk and perhaps in hindsight, with Potter explaining his plan for Mudryk, ahead of the clash against the Foxes, another starting berth was unlikely.
The 47-year-old said: "Sometimes you have to take a step away. Sometimes you just need a bit of training time. Sometimes you need a breather. So there are a lot of factors.
"Hopefully, he can benefit from the time he's had. And again, it's not easy for him to just arrive in the middle of what was pre-season for him and to come into a new country, new club, new league, and just hit his absolute maximum level. It is regardless of the fee; I know people will look at the fee but it doesn’t change the situation he is in.
"We're positive about him. We're positive about the future for him. But we need just to help them settle and help him understand what he needs to do to help us."
The plan regarding Mudryk for Potter is clear but his decisions regarding the winger could be affected by some advice from one of his previous coaches. After dropping back down to the Shakhtar academy in 2019, Mudryk joined Desna Chernihiv on loan under coach Oleksandr Ryabokon.
Mudryk enjoyed a successful spell at Desna and Ryabokon has since reflected on his time at the Ukrainian outfit, comparing him to some of the best wingers in world football and telling Potter exactly how to get the best out of him.
“We needed an aggressive, fast, dribbling, young left winger,” Ryabokon told Evening Standard. “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.”
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