Mykhailo Mudryk has been offered the perfect opportunity to impress Mauricio Pochettino next season, following the release of the 2023/24 Premier League fixture list. Despite having shown flashes of brilliance, the 22-year-old winger has struggled to impress since arriving at Chelsea in the new year.
He featured 15 times for the Blues in the English top-flight last term, providing just two assists. While the Ukraine international is yet to find the net, he's only ever completed a full game in the Premier League once.
Starting just seven games and being brought off the bench in eight, Mudryk was never given a run of games to truly get his feet under the table. With Pochettino to officially start his role as manager on July 1, the youngster will be hoping for a fresh start in west London.
And, luckily for Mudryk, the Premier League fixture list has given him the perfect chance to kickstart his Chelsea career from where it all began. On the opening day of the 2023/24 campaign, the Blues welcome Liverpool to Stamford Bridge in what is expected to be a fiery affair.
For Mudryk, it's the opportunity to pick up from where he left off at Anfield in January on his Premier League debut. The Ukrainian came off the bench in the second half of the west Londoners' goalless draw with Jurgen Klopp's side in late January.
Despite not having featured in a competitive clash since November for Shakhtar Donetsk, Mudryk looked the sharpest player on the pitch. He injected great intensity to Chelsea's play and proved to be a constant threat, forcing Liverpool to replace the yellow-carded James Milner for Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Despite only half an hour or so in the English top-flight, the winger recorded the fastest speed of any player at the time (36.63 km/h). Only Anthony Gordon, Darwin Nunez, Erling Haaland and Denis Zakaria had managed to come close to matching Mudryk's top speed during that period.
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After the game, Rio Ferdinand admitted that he was wrong about Mudryk, having previously cast doubt over his price tag. Speaking on the YouTube channel FIVE, the former Manchester United defender said: "I’ve got to say, his first touch he kicked it out of play, by the way.
"Everyone in the studio looked at each other and said ‘£80m what? How much?’ And his second touch, Milner got booked trying to bring him down because he knew he was going to be off.
"The jets were on. He is rapid! The kid isn’t even in rhythm, he’s not played any games in the last six weeks. Imagine when he’s fully fit."
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