Chelsea boss Graham Potter has explained that why Mykhaylo Mudryk was substituted at half-time against Fulham after giving the winger his full debut. Mudryk was rather a dull spot in Chelsea’s attack with Kai Havertz and Mason Mount having to do the extra work. The 22-year-old however had earned his place in the starting line-up after a blistering cameo against Liverpool in the goalless draw.
But he was again part of his new club’s back to back goalless draws. And it wasn’t too far that Potter took down Mykhaylo Mudryk at the half-time. He was then replaced by another of Chelsea’s signing this window, Noni Madueke, who also failed to provide a spark. Mudryk joined Chelsea from Shakhtar in a stunning £88m transfer as the Blues hijacked his imminent move to Arsenal. He has so far has had a mixed start at Stamford Bridge.
Potter reveals Mykhaylo Mudryk started against Fulham without fully recovering from ‘heavy cold’
Big things are expected from Mykhaylo Mudryk as he arrived at the Stamford Bridge for a big price of £63m plus £25m in add-ons. He further excited the Chelsea fans with his 35-minute debut against Liverpool, as he provided a much needed spark in Potter’s dull attack. He almost scored as well against the Reds at Anfield after brilliant close-control in the penalty box, only to fire his shot in the side netting.
However, as much sparkling as Mudryk’s performance was against Liverpool, it seemed the same player didn’t turn up against the Cottagers. In his first start for the Blues, Mudryk managed a nightmarish zero shots, zero chances created, zero dribbles and a mere 3 passes in the final-third, one ground duel won and dribbled past twice. Potter was quick to take him off, as he explained his decision while speaking to beIN Sports:
“It’s always that way sometimes with the young players. He also had a really heavy cold as well. He’s suffered a little bit with that this week. So he was just feeling a little heavy-legged at half-time. We didn’t want to take any risks with him. We had some substitutes, I thought Noni Madueke came on and did really well as well, so that’s a positive for us.”
Potter further added while speaking to Sky Sports in a separate interview:
“We didn’t want to take a chance with him. He’s still in a process where we’re building up his minutes because of the break that he’s been on in Ukraine. So that was the decision there.”
The Ukraine international was a part of Chelsea’s stunning £320m spending spree in the January market, of which a British record £106m was splashed on Enzo Fernandez for his acquisition from Benfica. While the Argentine too was handed his full debut against Fulham, he looked like the only bright spot amongst the dull Blues. Chelsea have now won only one of their last five games, scoring a mere 2 goals. They sit ninth in the table and face the serious possibility of missing out on a top four finish.