07 April 2023 , 06:17
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Frank Lampard's Everton tried to sign Mykhaylo Mudryk last summer.
Lampard, who was sacked as Everton boss three months ago, was reappointed by Chelsea on Thursday. The ex-midfielder has agreed a short-term deal as their caretaker manager until the end of the season, when club chair Todd Boehly will revaluate their tricky situation. The Blues are 11th in the Premier League and could fail to qualify for Europe.
If Lampard is to salvage anything from Chelsea's season, he will need to get the best out of Mudryk. Lampard spotted the Ukrainian talent during his time in charge of Everton and submitted a €30million (£26m) offer, but it was rebuffed by Shakhtar Donetsk.
"We received an offer of €30m," Shakhtar's sporting Darijo Srna told CBS Sports in September, shortly after the transfer window closed. "And when our president doesn’t sell a player for €30m, especially in such difficult times, he is sending a message to everyone that he wants to progress in the Champions League and to win the championship.
"Mudryk is a serious talent. After Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, he’s the best player in Europe in his position. If someone wants to buy Mudryk they must spend a lot, a lot, a lot of money and respect our club and our president."
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Shakhtar's stubbornness was vindicated, as Mudryk was sold to Chelsea for a club-record sale worth £88m in January. Just eight days later, Lampard was sacked by Everton.
Mykhaylo Mudryk is yet to score for Chelsea (Clive Rose/Getty Images)Do you think Mykhaylo Mudryk will come good for Chelsea? Let us know in the comments below!
Although Mudryk is regarded as a serious talent, he's struggling in England. The 22-year-old winger has provided just one assist in seven Premier League outings. In comparison, he scored seven goals and provided six assists in 12 league games for Shakhtar this term.
Perhaps Lampard's biggest challenge will be finding a place in Chelsea's squad for Mudryk. He has several attacking players to choose from, including Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic, Noni Madueke, Joao Felix, Kai Havertz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Furthermore, Lampard has to hit the ground running. The Englishman has just nine Premier League games to get Chelsea as far up the table as possible, and it's fair to say their season hangs on a Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.
Mudryk will be desperate to play a part in that mammoth European tie. Oleksandr Usyk, the unified heavyweight boxing champion of the world, believes Mudryk can become the fourth Ukrainian to win the Ballon d'Or after Oleg Blokhin, Igor Belanov and Andriy Shevchenko (Blokhin and Belanov represented the Soviet Union at international level).
"No, it doesn’t," Usyk told Parimatch when asked if Mudryk's huge transfer fee came as a surprise. "Everything has risen. Prices, and money, are a little higher than they were. I think he’s worth a little more than €100m because I’ve been watching this guy.
"I saw him for the first time playing for the U18 or U19 team. The hairstyle that catches your eye, the tattoos, I mean, he was playing, and I was watching him, and I liked him. It seems to me that this guy can bring the fourth Ballon d’Or to Ukraine."