Mykhailo Mudryk’s recent pre-season outing against Borussia Dortmund has provided encouragement for Mauricio Pochettino as the upcoming campaign approaches.
Since his high-profile £88.5 million transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk in January, the 22-year-old Ukrainian international has faced challenges in finding his form at Stamford Bridge.
Despite making 17 competitive appearances for Chelsea, Mudryk is yet to score a goal, and the team had a disappointing Premier League campaign last season, finishing behind Crystal Palace, Fulham, and Brentford.
However, in the pre-season match against Borussia Dortmund, Mudryk showed signs of gaining much-needed confidence.
His performance was a significant positive in the 1-1 draw, indicating that he might be ready to make a strong impact for Chelsea in the upcoming season under the guidance of manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Check out his highlights package from Wednesday’s game below.
Mykhailo Mudryk vs Dortmund pic.twitter.com/FNLGVqhfbL
— CFC.Nick🇩🇰 (@NickCFC_) August 3, 2023
Many fans have picked up on Mudryk’s newfound confidence of late, including Chelsea teammate Ben Chilwell, who recently backed the forward to shine in the coming months.
“I just see endless bags of potential that hasn’t been fulfilled yet. I’ve told him that, I’m not just saying it,” he said. “I’ve told him he hasn’t fulfilled that yet for one reason or another.
“I literally had a conversation with him today after training in the changing room, because he’s been on fire the last few days and obviously was on fire in the game against Brighton and I just said he needs to keep that up now for the whole season.
“We all see how good he is and he just needs to keep up what he’s been doing.”
Invest in your Mykhailo Mudryk stocks while you still can because he’s beginning to look like a completely different player 🔥 pic.twitter.com/CVZYuTanAN
— Uber Chelsea FC (@UberChelseaFC_) August 3, 2023
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, has already spotted Mudryk’s “massive potential” since his appointment.
“I spoke with all the players, a lot, Mudryk also because he was in Barcelona for a few days and we exchanged messages,” he explained.
“We spoke in the last few days and I’ve found a really good kid. He is still young with a massive potential. The most important thing is that we need to earn the trust and confidence in us.
“We are building the relationship with him and with different players. They need know us and how we act in every situation. We’ve had many chats and I’m happy about that.”
Thoughts on Mudryk’s pre-season outing against Borussia Dortmund? Let us know in the comments.