Mykhaylo Mudryk's former coach gives damning assessment of £87m Chelsea transfer

03 February 2023 , 09:59

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Mykhaylo Mudryk's former coach gives damning assessment of £87m Chelsea transfer

Mykhaylo Mudryk's former coach, Andres Carrasco, has insisted the Ukraine star would have been better suited to an Arsenal move.

Former Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mudryk completed a January move to Chelsea, with Arsenal failing to land their man after sustained interest. The Blues paid an initial £62million for the 22-year-old, with the fee potentially rising to £87m including add-ons.

Mudryk impressed on his Chelsea debut after coming off the bench in a goalless draw with Liverpool and is expected to have a big part to play for the remainder of the season. However, Carrasco - who coached the youngster while in charge of Shakhtar's under-19 side - questioned why he moved to the Blues and not their London rivals.

"This is a club that has been changing recently," Carrasco said of Chelsea in an interview with Tribuna. "But it is good for Mudryk to be in a club that always expects maximum results.

"Now, he needs to go through a period of adaptation. And only time will tell if it was the right decision for him or not.

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"Today, Arsenal, with its style of play, could be more suitable for Mudryk, who successfully uses dribbling and plays one-on-one. It would be better for him, in my opinion."

Has Mykhaylo Mudryk chosen the wrong London club? Have your say in the comments section.

Mykhaylo Mudryk made his Chelsea debut against Liverpool (PA)

Carrasco's comments echo those of Emmanuel Petit. The World Cup-winning midfielder, who played for Arsenal and Chelsea, has been impressed by Mudryk but still thinks the starlet may end up having some regrets.

"I liked the way Mudryk played against Liverpool on his debut," Petit told Betway. "I think he put something different into the Chelsea game when he came up against them. He showed that he was very quick on the ball. He showed that he wasn’t scared, he took responsibility straight away. He wanted to put pressure on the defenders.

"It is still a big gamble for the future. At first he wanted to go to Arsenal, but ended up at Chelsea, so my question is: 'Is he happy about that?'. I’m not sure. But, definitely, he would add quality to their squad. I hope that he will be successful over at Chelsea."

Arsenal were also keen on Mudryk after his form for Shakhtar Donetsk (Bernat Armangue/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Mudryk showed some quality against Liverpool despite coming into the game with little in the way of recent competitive football. Chelsea manager Graham Potter admitted he was forced to call on the new man earlier than planned, but could give him more minutes against Fulham on Friday night.

"Yes, ideally we wanted to give him around 30 minutes, but we thought it was the right time," Potter admitted of Mudryk. "He's a fit boy and we thought it was the right time to bring him on. It was a good start to his career with us.

"He’s not played football for a while, he’s been on a midseason break, we had to manage his minutes and he’s still in that phase, but you could see his qualities."

Tom Victor