Mykhailo Mudryk looks set to do whatever it takes to ensure that he gets off on the right foot under Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea. Despite having shown glimpses of magic, the 22-year-old winger struggled to impress in his debut Premier League campaign.
While Mudryk is yet to score his first goal for the Blues, he's only ever completed 90 minutes in the English top-flight once. Starting just seven games and being brought off the bench in eight, the Ukraine international was never given a run of games to truly get his feet under the table.
But with Pochettino to officially start his role as manager on July 1, Mudryk will be hoping for a fresh start in west London. In order to impress the former Tottenham boss ahead of pre-season, the youngster is expected to go above and beyond during the summer break.
According to The Times, Mudryk is ready to represent his country in the upcoming European Under-21s Championship to recapture his form in time for the new season. The report states that it remains to be seen whether or not he will actually be part of the squad for the tournament but Chelsea have backed his decision.
Mudryk is currently on international duty with the senior side and he's already featured once against Germany. While the youngster started slowly with an error in the first few minutes which lead to a chance for the opposition, he quickly rose to the occasion and put in an excellent display and chipped in with a goal – though it was later judged to be an own goal following a deflection.
Ukraine, who are in the same European Championship qualifying group as England, still have Malta to play on June 19 – just two days before the Under-21s campaign kicks off. Despite being part of the senior makeup, Mudryk is still eligible for this summer's competition in Romania and Georgia.
If he guides his country to the final of the Under-21s tournament then he'll miss the first seven days of pre-season under Pochettino. While there may be concerns that Mudryk will need time to rest and recover, he's already enjoyed two weeks of holiday and Chelsea's tour of the United States doesn't begin until August 2 anyway.
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With Pochettino in the dugout at Stamford Bridge, Mudryk is expected to fulfil his lofty potential. In a column for CaughtOffside, Stan Collymore said: "Mauricio Pochettino is coming in though and he has a style of football that you would assume will benefit Mudryk.
"So if the Argentine can’t get a tune out of him and we’re talking about him, in the same way, this time next year, then I think it’ll be time to worry – but as for right now, I think he still has huge potential and next season I do expect him to show vast improvements in his individual game."
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