Chelsea winger Mykhaylo Mudryk had no time for social media criticism as he prepares to get his Blues career up and running.
Mudryk joined Chelsea from Shakhtar Donetsk in January, with the London club set to pay up to £87m for his services. He was one of a number of new signings to struggle in West London, though, as poor performances saw Graham Potter's time as manager come to an early end.
The youngster showed his quality with Ukraine as they reached the semi-finals of the European Under-21 Championships. This has prompted some positivity around his upcoming league campaign, and he was quick to shut down one critic at the source.
“Bro learn to make 360 turns with the ball it will help u change direction and be unpredictable," one fan wrote under a recent Instagram post from the Ukrainian. “Running with the ball in one direction isn’t good enough. Clue.”
Mudryk was having none of it, though. “Why you are didn’t win Balon d’Or yet?” [sic] was his reply.
The 22-year-old joined Chelsea after impressing for Shakhtar during the Champions League group stages. He failed to score in 17 games in all competitions, though, and only managed two assists during his first half-season in England.
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Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has spoken about Mudryk's role at the club after taking over as Potter's permanent successor. The Argentine explained the situation facing the winger - and fellow January arrival Enzo Fernandez - after taking charge at the start of July.
“It has been important for Enzo to rest a little bit because he was playing, playing, playing for a year-and-a-half," Pochettino said of his fellow Argentine. "And he had to change everything — culture, language — and it’s always difficult to adapt. But now he knows what it is to be a Chelsea player and he knows the city and is improving in communicating better.
“Everything is different in the life of Mudryk, compared to Enzo. That is why it’s really important to spend time to talk.
“I’m going to meet him before he comes to start the pre-season. I’d really like to see and to know him, and then with the staff, to design the best strategy to help him be at the level that Chelsea, when they signed him, expected him to be.”
Chelsea will get their upcoming Premier League campaign underway against Liverpool on August 13, and have five friendlies to play before then. Pochettino has already bolstered his ranks with the arrival of Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson, while Kai Havertz and Mason Mount are among the big names to leave Stamford Bridge.
