Jason Cundy has delivered a pretty tough verdict on Chelsea attacker Mykhailo Mudryk.
There’s no doubt that Mykhailo Mudryk, who cost Chelsea £89million (BBC) to sign, has had an underwhelming first year in Chelsea colours.
The 22-year-old winger has two goals and four assists in 32 Blues appearances since arriving in January.
He’s been getting some decent minutes this season as he tries to prove himself to head coach Mauricio Pochettino, but he’s encountering the same issues when it comes to a lack of end product.
Speaking on talkSPORT (6:27am, 11 December), Jeff Stelling questioned why Pochettino is sticking with Mudryk in the team right now.
Jason Cundy frustration
Cundy has suggested that Mudryk’s got no idea what to do with the ball when he gets into certain positions at the top end of the pitch.
“Do you want to get me started on Mudryk? You must have played with players that were quick, but because they’re so quick their brain doesn’t quite work as fast as their feet. That’s who he is!” Cundy told talkSPORT.
“His feet work so quick. He gets there and he’s like, ‘Oh my God, my feet have worked so fast my brain can’t work out what I’ve got to do’. If you can get that part of his game right…”
Mykhailo Mudryk too quick for his own brain
When you see the way that Mudryk continues to fly past opponents with rapid pace, you can understand why many fans are desperate for him to come good at Stamford Bridge. Also, it was a massive investment to bring him to Stamford Bridge from Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Ukrainian winger has a lot do to piece everything together when he gets to the box, but most players in the world would absolutely love his acceleration and low centre of gravity.
If the Blues forwards want to stay in the line-up, they should be posting good attacking numbers.
We’ll defend Mudryk slightly by flagging he’s been a lot more creative lately, with two assists in last three league matches. He was let down my teammates in the weekend defeat to Everton, too.
However, he’s not going to move into the top bracket of attacker until he can show a lot more composure with his finishing. He’s fast enough just to take a deep breath before he shoots, something a lot easier said than done we understand.