04 February 2023 , 08:26
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Chelsea's Premier League rivals have been warned that Mykhaylo Mudryk could have the same impact on the top-flight as Eden Hazard did during his time at the Blues.
Hazard scored 110 goals and notched 92 assists to help Chelsea win two Premier League titles during seven years at Stamford Bridge. And Jamie Carragher believes that Mudryk can replicate that success after his January move from Shakhtar Dontesk.
He highlighted the fact that Mudryk recently recorded the fastest speed in the Premier League this season as a reason for Chelsea's Premier League rivals to be fearful of what the Ukrainian international can do.
"That doesn’t bode well for defenders, I can assure you that. He was only on for about 20 minutes, half an hour, at Anfield, but I mean we always talk about players needing time to settle," he told Sky Sports before Chelsea's goalless draw with Fulham on Friday.
"I get that, but I think a lot of the great players in the Premier League era, certainly players who have come in from abroad, have shown something early. Not necessarily in the first 20 minutes of a game, but he certainly did that.
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"He looked really good when he came on against Liverpool, and Liverpool did well to get a 0-0 [draw] in the end - he was fantastic when he came on. What he reminded me of was not just the pace, but his actual quick feet.
HAVE YOUR SAY! How would you rate Mykhaylo Mudryk's performance against Fulham? Comment below.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes Mudryk will star for Chelsea (Sky Sports)"It was very Hazard-like, one of the greatest players we’ve seen in the Premier League and one of the best Chelsea players we’ve seen, Eden Hazard. Picking the ball up in those positions, that low centre of gravity.
"You see him in between players, and it’s not about pace, that’s great footballing ability and understanding where his teammates are, but as I said, that blistering pace and what he’s going to do to defenders, I think he’s going to be an absolute nightmare."
Mudryk made his first Premier League start on Friday, but was taken off at half-time, with boss Graham Potter revealing that was due to the after affects of a heavy cold. But Gary Neville believes it will take time for the attacker to settle.
"Mudryk wasn’t right the whole of that first half, I wondered at half-time if it would be harsh for him to come off, obviously being an £80 million signing if there wasn’t something wrong with him, because you’re trying to put belief into players, but he wasn’t right," he said.
"They had no rhythm in their performance, Chelsea, you see a team that’s a unit in attack and defence - they weren’t. We’ve just seen a group of players training on the pitch out here after the game at 11 o’clock at night.
"Trust me they’ll be players who want to be playing in the first team, they want minutes on the pitch, not to be training at 11 o’clock at night in an empty stadium, and there’s going to be a lot of that for that Chelsea squad."
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