The roar from all four stands at Stamford Bridge which greeted Mykhailo Mudryk’s superb strike against FC Noah provided another reminder just how much Chelsea fans are still willing the Ukraine international to come good in a blue shirt.
It may have been the fifth goal in a comfortable 8-0 victory against a side sitting fourth in the Armenian League, but it was met with one of the loudest reactions from the stands this season. Every time the TV screens then replayed the 22-yard shot finding the top corner, even more sounds of appreciation were forthcoming. It is not a noise he has got to hear too often in a Chelsea shirt.
Sublime Misha. 👏🎯#CFC | #UECL pic.twitter.com/Yfg2fuJznk
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 8, 2024
Every so often over the years, Chelsea buy a player for a lot of money and the crowd decide to stand by them no matter what. It does not apply to everyone. For example, while two previous club record buys Andriy Shevchenko (£30.8million) and Fernando Torres (£50m) had seemingly unwavering support despite limited returns, Alvaro Morata (£60m) and Romelu Lukaku (£97.5m) soon heard moans and groans after failing to build on a good start.
Mudryk is more in the Shevchenko and Torres camp as far as how he is being treated and this backing is much needed. Chelsea’s next Premier League game is against Arsenal on Sunday and this fixture will always put the 23-year-old’s situation in the spotlight because if things had worked out differently, he could be so easily playing for, rather than against, them.
Mudryk looked certain to join Arsenal from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023 only for Chelsea to beat their London rivals to it with a transfer worth an initial £62m, plus another €30m in add-ons (depending on the club winning multiple Premier Leagues and Champions Leagues).
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Arsenal responded to the disappointment by acquiring the more proven Leandro Trossard, who is six years older and had three seasons’ experience of playing in the Premier League, from Brighton & Hove Albion for £27m.
Neither man has been able to establish themselves as a first-team regular since they made their respective moves, but speak to any Arsenal follower and they will argue they got the better of the two deals. Some basic statistics will suggest that. Trossard has made more appearances (82-71), played more minutes (4174-3501) and had more goal involvements (20 goals/13 assists to nine goals/nine assists) than Mudryk.
However, Chelsea’s purchase of a young player like Mudryk in January last year — a player with a lot of potential and his best years ahead of him — fits the criteria they have been consistently looking for since learning lessons from the summer window of 2022, when finished articles Raheem Sterling (now on loan at Arsenal), Kalidou Kouilbaly (since sold to Al-Hilal) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (sold to Marseille) were signed on significant salaries. Despite proving to be a useful option for Arsenal, Trossard is 30 in December and does not have the same luxury of time to get better, as Mudryk does.
Mudryk curls home his stunning goal (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Mudryk has only shown flashes of what he can do thus far and everyone connected to Chelsea are right to have expected a lot more. But as far as comparisons to Trossard are concerned, he has had a far more difficult environment to find his best form in.
Enzo Maresca is the fourth different head coach he has played under (Graham Potter, interim Frank Lampard and Mauricio Pochettino came before the Italian) since moving to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea’s squad has been far from settled with numerous incomings and outgoings taking place over the same period. Inevitably the lack of stability has led to inconsistency on the pitch, hardly an ideal environment for every new signing to shine in. Not everyone can settle in so quickly like a Cole Palmer.
Speaking to the Chelsea website this season, Mudryk admitted he is working hard on improving his English because he recognises the importance of ‘being able to be myself’. Lacking the ability to communicate freely with team-mates is obviously going to be a hindrance to achieving this on and off the pitch. Even now he is seen as one of the more quiet characters. No-one else in the dressing room speaks Ukrainian. If he had joined Arsenal, Ukraine team-mate and friend Oleksandr Zinchenko would have helped him adjust to life in England a lot quicker.
Trossard did not face such challenges. He joined a far more settled and confident side too. Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has been in charge for nearly five years and they have competed for the Premier League title for the past two seasons.
Unlike Mudryk, Trossard did not have too much pressure on his shoulders from day one. He was bought to strengthen a delivering squad and primarily be rotated with Gabriel Martinelli. The huge difference in transfer fees reflected a difference in expectations. The outcry over Mudryk having a disappointing game is always going to be far greater than if Trossard does. Mudryk has had to cope with all this scrutiny while worrying about family members and friends coping with a war in his homeland.
In all likelihood, Mudryk will be on the bench against Arsenal at the weekend, but there are positive signs he is earning Maresca’s trust a bit more. The extent to which he stays behind after training to work on his game has not gone unnoticed. After scoring against Panathinaikos last month, Maresca highlighted that Mudryk’s “learning process is more slow compared to the rest”. But he has featured in five consecutive games now, which included bringing him on with Chelsea 1-0 down to Manchester United last weekend and coming back to draw 1-1.
Mudryk has begun the campaign with two goals and five assists from 13 appearances. Granted that has come against weak opposition in the Conference League and EFL Cup (Barrow of League Two), with 124 minutes of Premier League action yet to provide a goal involvement. But Chelsea clearly still see him as a useful asset to have along with other wingers Pedro Neto, Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho.
“People haven’t seen the best of me,’ he said in August. “There is still a lot more to come.”
Chelsea and their fans will hope their patience will be rewarded.
(Top photo: Mudryk celebrates after his goal. Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
