Graham Potter is hopeful Mykhailo Mudryk will benefit from his time out of the Chelsea side and believes it was never going to be easy for the Ukraine international to be at his "absolute maximum" after arriving from Shakhtar Donetsk in the winter transfer window.
After Mudryk starred in the Champions League group stage, he attracted interest from clubs across Europe. It was Arsenal who led the race for the 22-year-old and he was expected to complete a move to the Emirates in January. Then came Chelsea's late pursuit, led by co-owner Behdad Eghbali.
He and co-sporting director Paul Winstanley flew to Turkey to hold talks with Shakhtar and within 48 hours Mudryk was a Chelsea player. He impressed on his debut against Liverpool – a cameo appearance off the bench – and then started against Fulham, West Ham, and Borussia Dortmund.
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Mudryk was introduced as a second-half substitute in defeats to Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur before not featuring at all in the win at home to Leeds United and the second-leg triumph over Dortmund on Tuesday. That has resulted in some questioning Potter's use of the Ukrainian.
However, the Chelsea head coach insists Mudryk has a positive future at Stamford Bridge and is understanding of the adaptation period new signings have to go through.
"Of course, every player wants to play and it's important that players play to improve, I think that's a fact," Potter explained. "But at the same time, it's not a straight road, it's not just a play and everything happens in a linear way. Sometimes you have to take a step away. Sometimes you just need a bit of training time. Sometimes you need a breather. So there are a lot of factors.
"Hopefully, he can benefit from the time he's had. And again, it's not easy for him to just arrive in the middle of what was pre-season for him and to come into a new country, new club, new league, and just hit his absolute maximum level. It is regardless of the fee; I know people will look at the fee but it doesn’t change the situation he is in.
"We're positive about him. We're positive about the future for him. But we need just to help them settle and help him understand what he needs to do to help us."
Chelsea's attacking players have come under heavy scrutiny since the turn of the year. None more so than Kai Havertz, who has continuously been deployed as the number nine ahead of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and David Datro Fofana. Yet against Dortmund, the German forward was outstanding.
Havertz scored Chelsea's second goal on the night – a retaken second-half penalty – and caused the visiting backline constant problems with his movement and use of the ball.
"I have no doubt about Kai," Potter replied when asked if Havertz can become a consistent goalscorer for Chelsea. "He’s a top player, delivers in the big moments, gives his best for the team all the time, and runs himself into the ground.
"He probably benefited from playing a slightly different position [against Dortmund] but whenever you ask him to do he does his best. That’s a great starting point. He’s still young and he’s got all the attributes to be a top player, score goals, assists, help the team. He can be an all-around fantastic attacking player."
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