5 Reasons why Chelsea fans can be optimistic about Mudryk

It’s no secret that last season was a nightmare for Chelsea F.C. They had four different managers and finished in 12th place in the premier league, their worst finish in 29 years. Last January the club spent €329 million during the winter transfer window, including €70m plus €30m in add-ons for Ukrainian Winger Mykhailo Mudryk from F.C. Shakhtar Donetsk.

Mudryk was initially slated to go to Chelsea’s heated London rival Arsenal. But the Gunners didn’t want to pay the hefty sum that the Blues were willing to and as a result, Mudryk ended up in blue instead of red.

The price tag on the 22-year-old Ukrainian winger indicates, first that Chelsea under new owner Todd Boehly is not afraid to spend money and secondly that they believe Mudryk is worth the big investment. They hoped that Mudryk could be someone that could jumpstart their season, and be a glimmer of hope.

However, that wasn’t the case, in 15 appearances Mudryk managed to score zero goals and mustered up only two assists. And he had opportunities to score, and some of his misses were dreadful. Watching him miss easy sitters was similar to Alvaro Morata’s time with the Blues.

One in particular that comes to mind was against Aston Villa when Mudryk had a one-on-one with Emi Martinez and shot the ball right at him. Another example was late in the season against Manchester United when he shanked a golden opportunity in front of the goal.