Can Mykhailo Mudryk save Chelsea’s season?
Chelsea Football Club
Few people knew what to expect when the news broke out that Todd Boehly had bought Chelsea this past summer. However, one thing that was never questioned was the money.
Chelsea has been one of if not the most active teams in the past two transfer windows, bringing in the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli, Raheem Sterling from Manchester City, and Wesley Fofana from Leicester City over the summer.
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However, their rough first half of the season showed everyone that this squad needed much more to compete at the top of the Premier League. It got so bad at the start that Chelsea fired their Champions League-winning coach Thomas Tuchel after their 1-0 loss in their first game of the Champions League against Dinamo Zagreb.
Even before that, there were some ugly losses, like the 3-0 result against Leeds and the 2-1 loss against Southampton. It was almost a surprise that they let Thomas Tuchel go so early, especially after finishing third in the league and winning the Champions League in the last year and a half.
Now, enter Graham Potter. The ex-Brighton manager made a real name for himself by delivering a middle-of-the-table finish last season for a Brighton team no one saw coming. However, managing Chelsea was a chance Graham Potter could not refuse, so he made the switch in the early days of September.
After a 1-1 draw against RB Salzburg, Chelsea was able to string together five consecutive wins in all competitions. They also qualified for the next Champions League round but never climbed the league table before or after the World Cup. They also didn’t win their first match of the new year until their fifth game, after they lost three games and drew on
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So how do you solve this? You throw more money into your project. Chelsea has brought in eight new players this month. The likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona, Audrey Santos from Santos, and Noni Madueke from PSV were all bought, while Joao Felix and Denis Zakaria were loaned to the London club, among others as well.
Many of these new signings were meant to help their attack because of the injuries to Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic, but also because it was not very good. Their top scorer this season, Kai Havertz, only has five goals throughout the first half of the season, but they may have struck gold with their latest signing. Mykhailo Mudryk, the 22-year-old Ukrainian winger bought from Shakhtar Donetsk, is one of a handful of expensive purchases Chelsea has made in this transfer window.
Bought for around €90 million, Mudryk scored seven goals and added six assists this season for Shakhtar Donetsk. They’re not the eye-catching goal numbers that a player like Haaland produces, but he creates havoc along the back line with the ball at his feet.
He has that dynamic style of attack that Chelsea has been missing this season. Mudryk is great in 1v1 situations, has lightning speed with and without the ball, and is a great passer in the final third. If nothing else, he’ll bring that excitement to get the crowd off their feet whenever he is near the ball.
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Mudryk showed flashes of what I’m talking about in his first game this two weekends ago when they faced Liverpool. He only came on in the 55th minute, but he was a handful for Liverpool to handle. Mudryk flashed great vision with the balls he played in and almost scored in his first game.
Could he be the greatest thing since Eden Hazard? That’s still yet to be seen. Although, I believe that when this team gets fully healthy, with Mudryk’s help, they can certainly give the top four teams in the Premier League a run for their money. Chelsea has the talent in their squad. They just have to find the right way to take advantage of it.
