Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Serhiy Palkin has urged Chelsea to remain patient with Mykhailo Mudryk despite a slow start to life in England. The 22-year-old is yet to score for his new club after signing for £62 million in January.
The shock nature of his move to SW6 hasn't helped matters with Arsenal the clear favourites to sign him over the winter and the early success of their replacement, Leandro Trossard, has only aggravated things too. Mudryk is now being managed by Frank Lampard after Graham Potter was sacked last week as well.
It has been a far from settled environment to come into for the young winger and not one that fosters immediate growth. Despite his bright cameo against Liverpool on his debut, Mudryk's performances since then have plateaued massively.
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He has found himself out of the side too in recent weeks with Christian Pulisic preferred against Everton, meanwhile his two big missed chances against Aston Villa only adds to the frustration. He is, like the other big-money January additions, a player for the long term though and Palkin doesn't think the Blues need to worry.
"A week ago in England, I met Mykhailo Mudryk and he is very happy," he said. "He likes everything that is going on [there], he wants to work hard, he wants to show the best. I said from the beginning, I spoke to the owners of Chelsea, and I told them you’ve got a real diamond but you should be very, very patient. Give this guy time and he will show you what he can bring to the club."
Mudryk bounded onto the scene over the summer with Brentford amongst the clubs chasing his signature but Arsenal's interest and a remarkable start to the Champions League meant that he was soon being compared to Antony and Jack Grealish in terms of value. Both of those attackers went for more than £85m in the past 12 months.
Shakhtar also praised their young star and put him in the same category as Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. Chelsea were sold on his talent and splashed out on the relatively inexperienced Ukrainian. "I know 100 per cent he will participate [in winning] many, many trophies for Chelsea in the future," Palkin added.
"This is a very, very unique boy. A unique boy with unbelievable technical characteristics. I stayed at the club [Shakhtar] for 20 years. I have seen a lot of players. This one, from a professional point of view and how hard he works, I have never seen it in my life."
His unique blend of sheer speed, dribbling skill and two-footedness made him one of the most exciting players to watch across Europe. Although his sample size is smal, his potential is huge and that is what Chelsea paid their money for.
Even if Lampard can't get the best out of him until the end of the season, the signs are still bright.
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