CHELSEA might have finally found the keys to their £88million “Ferrari”.
The Blues were slammed for their use of Mykhailo Mudryk by Shakhtar Donsetsk CEO Sergiy Palkin earlier this week.
Mudryk has struggled to adapt to life at Stamford Bridge since his £88.5m move from Shakhtar, and Palkin put the blame on Chelsea.
Speaking to GOAL, he said: “You don’t need a Ferrari if you don’t know how to drive it. A normal car will do. If you buy a Ferrari, you should think about how to handle it. That’s my opinion on Mudryk at Chelsea.”
However, it looks like Enzo Maresca might know how to handle a supercar, as Mudryk has finally started to find his feet for Chelsea.
The 23-year-old Ukrainian was electric in Thursday night’s 4-1 thrashing of Panathinaikos in the Conference League.
READ MORE ON CHELSEA
Mudryk registered two assists and bagged a goal of his own as Chelsea went top of the league phase table.
The winger didn’t just do well in and around the box, but also made an impact all over the pitch.
Mudryk left Greece with 100 per cent passing accuracy and having won four duels.
It wasn’t just last night that the tricky attacker excelled either.
Most read in Football
FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS
Mudryk also registered another assist against Gent last time out in the Conference League, meaning he has played a part in HALF of all Chelsea’s goals in the competition this season.
Minutes have been hard to come by in the league for Mudryk, spending just 81 minutes on the pitch in the Premier League so far this season.
But his Conference League performances are helping him show Maresca just how good he can be when he’s given time to shine.
Maresca suggested that Mudryk is a “slow learner” after the win on Thursday, but seemed to think he is taking steps towards being a more regular starter.
He said: “We’re working with him and all the wingers. They need to arrive inside the box in the position where Misha [Mudryk] scored.
“He’s struggled to arrive there, now he’s started to. That’s where we’re going to score goals.
“We want the best for Misha, since day one we’ve tried to help him. Probably he’s one of the guys that the learning process is more slow compared to the rest.
“But he’s improving. I’m sure that slowly, slowly we’re going to arrive where he will score more goals and to be more important for us.”
However, not everyone is convinced that Mudryk is starting to live up to his price tag.
Rory Smith spoke about how Mudryk is only excelling against weaker opposition during TNT Sports’ analysis of the game.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
He said: “I think it’s the issue that Maresca has got. You’ve got this sort of special Conference League squad.
“But the quality of teams they’re playing, that’s not enough to make him think ‘I’m going to drop Noni Madueke on the weekend because you’ve done really well in the Conference League’.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
