To say that Mykhailo Mudryk’s time at Chelsea is yet to meet expectations would be an understatement in the truest form. The Ukrainian was welcomed in January as the man to finally help kickstart the Blues’ season, before going on to endure a nightmare start to life at Stamford Bridge.Not helped by Chelsea’s dismal form in general, Mudryk ended the season with just two assists in the Premier League, and not a single goal to his name. Considering his reported hefty price tag of up to £89m, the pressure was on the 22-year-old to hit the ground running.In fairness to the winger, too, his first game against Liverpool, coming from the bench, showed plenty of promise, as he gave James Milner another reason why the curtains are perhaps closing on his illustrious career.With that, Mudryk had the excitement of the fans behind him. But, since then, he has failed to deliver.That hasn’t stopped him from backing himself on social media, however.
Mudryk hits back at fan
Fans love to have their say in football, with some even going as far to advise the professional players on what they should do, and how they should play. But, believe it or not, the player coached by football geniuses every week probably knows what they’re doing.
Criticising Mudryk, one fan took to social media to comment on the player’s Instagram post, saying: “Bro learn to make 360 turns with the ball it will help u change direction and be unpredictable. Running with the ball in one direction isn’t good enough. Clue.”
Talk about game-changing tactics…
Understandably, the Chelsea man couldn’t resist hitting back with a sarcastic comment, asking: “Didn’t win [the] Ballon d’Or yet?”
With that said, Mudryk will aim to finally prove himself on the pitch for Chelsea, likely opting not to take the advice of the supporter next season.
What is the market value of Mudryk?
Today’s transfer market is, of course, very different to how things used to be, given the incredible inflation in prices. That said, however, Chelsea massively overpaid for Mudryk, whose value is currently at just €50m (£42.61m). For context, the London club paid up to £89m for the Ukrainian back in January.
Even at the time of his arrival, as per Transfermarkt, Mudryk was only valued at the €40m (£34.09m) mark, which raises the question as to how Chelsea ended up paying almost triple that price for his signature.
The player they believed was arriving was someone who had been involved in 13 goals in 12 league appearances for Shakhtar Donetsk. What they got, though, was a player clearly not ready to save a sinking ship.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, things may get slightly easier. After all, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager has gotten the best out of young talents in the past such as Dele Alli. What’s more, the Argentine will almost certainly be an upgrade on Frank Lampard.
At the very least, he did show some glimpses of his mercurial talent while playing for Ukraine at the U21 European Championship this summer. Perhaps that is a sign of things to come.