Mykhaylo Mudryk has had a torrid season and a half at Chelsea since his arrival from Shakhtar Donetsk in a hefty 90 million pound deal. His electric debut against Liverpool promised so much yet those expectations have turned to dread in his first full season.
While lacking confidence is one thing, Mudryk has been guilty of coasting through matches. He has also been alleged to not even try to make things happen or simply use his skill set of explosive pace and technical ability, highlighting his timidness and fragility much to the dismay of Chelsea fans.
If his form on the field is anything to go by, his state off it doesn’t look that great either. As pale as he looks in those boots, it’s fair to say Mudryk hasn’t settled well in West London.
If his hilariously embarrassing attempt at a recent Premier League friendly competition is any indication, the Ukrainian might still be adjusting to baked beans and British weather.
In a game of geography, one player each from the twenty teams in the Premier League had to correctly match the location of the club on the map of England. While they were given hints, it didn’t look as easy at all.
When it was Mudryk’s turn on the stage, the Chelsea number 10 was reminded of his struggles on the pitch as he failed to place even five clubs correctly with their respective correct geographical location. Mykhaylo scored a paltry three and found himself all the way down at the bottom of the leaderboard.
A fun test of knowledge, Mudryk’s geography skills were laid bare for all to see. It shocked nearly everyone when Mudryk conveniently put Crystal Palace up North-East, instead of London. Rookie mistake.
While we could certainly excuse this basic error that could have been avoided by any fan watching the Premier League, Mudryk plays in it. If this wasn’t enough, Mykhaylo messed up ALL the London clubs and the absolute worst of them all is when he couldn’t even place his own club Chelsea accurately. It wasn’t pretty, his geography board.
His performance gained a lot of plaudits from the fans, all for effort. Some even joked about surpassing expectations as they simply didn’t expect Mudryk to get as many as he did.
Others were just largely content to see their club Chelsea marked above every other in London on the map, prompting cheers and chants of loyalty for the under confident speedster.
He puts Chelsea higher than any London clubs. He's Chels
But while Mudryk continues to get bantered for his geography knowledge, or lack of it, this competition was far from easy, just ask Kevin De Bruyne. As far sighted and accurate he is with his crosses, he was uncharacteristically quite erroneous here as he amusingly ended up marking Sheffield United in London and took his place at 5th in the leaderboard. Not bad but certainly not KDB-esque.
Mudryk is definitely having a hard time on the field, and it looks as if he is carrying on his form and wayward finishing outside football too apparently. None of it is to say that Mykhaylo Mudryk is not a good football player. Far from it. He is a very exciting talent, who on his day can wreck any fullback in the world to shreds. It’s just that those days are few and never in between.
Not to forget, he dons an iconic and symbolic number 10 for Chelsea, once sported by the legendary spinster Eden Hazard, the unbelievable expectations and pressure on Mudryk to perform already touch the sky. Furthermore, he has a similar skillset to the Belgian and the cooker seems to be whistling in his head.
While that continues to be the case, it’s not for a lack of effort on part of the manager. Mauricio Pochettino has given him ample of opportunities this season and continues to do so. The coach even favours the Ukrainian over the seniority and experience of Raheem Sterling in the pecking order. That says a lot about his faith in the struggling winger.
Even Chelsea’s slump wasn’t going to help him anyway but the recent turnaround by the Blues has breathed new life into the players and Mudryk will sooner or later definitely catch on and come good. A little bit of faith and a spark can go a long way in football. Maybe Mykhaylo’s corner is just around. Waiting to be turned.
