Graham Potter has backed Mykhaylo Mudryk to have a big future at Chelsea, and joked he hopes to remain at Stamford Bridge for the duration of his eight-and-a-half-year contract.
Mudryk was unveiled at Stamford Bridge during Sunday’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace after finalising his £88million transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk.
The 22-year-old was signed from under the noses of Arsenal and is in line to make the squad to travel to Liverpool next weekend.
Speaking after a crucial win over Palace, Potter gave his thoughts about Mudryk and why Chelsea hijacked Arsenal’s bid for the Ukraine international.
Potter said: "He’s a player with a big future, exciting, one vs one, he’s very direct, he attacks the back-line, can go into wide areas but also affects the goal. A really exciting player and I think our supporters will really like him.”
Remarkably, Chelsea have signed Mudryk on a deal until 2031 as they look to spread their costs throughout the contract.
“I’m the head coach and, as you know, I’ve had enough to worry about before thinking about contract lengths," said Potter.
"I’ll leave that to the club and what’s right for the club. I’ll try to support as best I can. I’m looking forward to working with him. If I’m here for the remainder of his contract, then we’ll all be happy!”
Meanwhile, £33m signing Benoit Badiashile made his debut against Palace and Potter was pleased with his display.
“I thought Benoit did well, really well,” said Potter. “It was a good game for him. Kalidou Koulibaly has had a lot of football recently and with the turnaround from Thursday night to today, that was a consideration for us. You can see his quality.
"He passes the ball well, when he needed to head it out he did, he’s adapting to the Premier League and that will take time because he’s a young player. I think he’ll get better and better but the first game was very positive.”
