02 October 2023 , 08:24
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Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has praised the "very talented" Mykhaylo Mudryk, revealing the winger is making a "massive effort" to fulfil his potential at Stamford Bridge.
Mudryk joined Chelsea back in January, making an £87million move from Shakhtar Donetsk, but has struggled to make much of an impact so far. In 23 appearances for the Blues in all competitions, Mudryk has failed to score a single goal.
And Pochettino has defended the 22-year-old, pointing out the huge changes Mudryk has gone through having only played 44 first-team matches when he joined Chelsea and never lived outside of Ukraine before. "The life of these guys, when they are so young, (it) changed," Pochettino said.
"You pay big money, big change from where they came. Also it's not about to arrive and to perform when you are young. It's about to adapt, it's about to help them to settle. Then the most difficult thing is to understand what these guys need to settle and to feel comfortable and to express their talent.
"If you ask me about Mischa, he's a very talented player of course, but you need to go with him very slowly. Cultural and everything is completely different to Latin people, from different countries or part of the world.
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"He's now trying to be more open, to adapt and be more involved in every situation, not only on the field but outside also. I think he's doing a massive effort to try to integrate himself and to understand better what it means to play like a team.
"He's unique. I can't find a player to say he is similar, I can't remember one. It's a good challenge for him, and it's a good challenge for us." Pochettino has previously highlighted an improvement in Mudryk's body language on the training ground, stating before Chelsea 1-0 win over Brighton in the Carabao Cup: "The problem with confidence is we cannot buy it in the supermarket.
Mudryk is yet to score for Chelsea (Offside via Getty Images)"It is about time. You know how the brain works. It is about little by little creating situations that can provide trust and confidence and belief. One example: today, with Mudryk, I like to play hitting the crossbar from outside the box.
"He said to me today: 'I'm not going to play with you anymore because always you win.' I said, 'yes, because I have the belief. The balance between belief and quality I know very well because I am 50 years old and you are still young. You need to still know yourself.'
"Today was the first time that we drew. Now, you start to believe in yourself, you start to believe in your quality because, if not, it is not a good balance between belief and quality. It is difficult. That is important."