Legendary striker urges patience regarding countryman’s struggles at Chelsea

Andriy Shevchenko calls for patience towards under-fire Chelsea winger Mykhaylo Mudryk

Former Chelsea star Andriy Shevchenko has called for patience towards the under-fire Blues winger Mykhaylo Mudryk before seeing the best of him.

After Arsenal’s heavy interest in Mudryk ahead of the January window, Chelsea eventually gazumped the Gunners and signed the Ukrainian on an £88.5m deal.

The former Shakhtar Donetsk winger made an eye-catching debut off the bench against Liverpool at Anfield but has struggled to make an impact since.

There has been a general consensus that Arsenal have got it right by missing out on Mudryk, while Chelsea has got a bad deal for spending such a big money on unproven talent. Paul Merson even claims that the 22-year-old is not a Graham Potter player, rather he is signed by the board.

It is tough to judge a player, who arrived in the middle of the season in a team that was struggling for form and rhythm. At the same time though, good players generally find a way to showcase the talent and class they have.

We must note that the Premier League is the toughest league in terms of physical and mental strength required to succeed in it.

Mudryk is still such a young player who came from the Ukrainian league with a handful of good performances at the elite stage – which is the Champions League.

So, it won’t be a lot if we ask people to judge the winger when he has spent 6-8 months in this country as a Chelsea player. If he still stutters, then this move failed badly. If it works out well, then quite a few will have to eat their words on the player.

More Chelsea News:

• Manchester United ask about the possibility of signing on-loan forward Joao Felix
• Chelsea are urged to sign Brentford striker Ivan Toney despite off-field issues
• England boss Gareth Southgate reveals high regard for Chelsea star Reece James

We hope that the latter is the case and we see the best of Mudryk sooner rather than later.