Mykhailo Mudryk made a winter move in the winter for £88million,
The Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino admits Mykhailo Mudryk is making a concerted effort to adapt to life in the Premier League and fulfil his potential as a “unique” player after an indifferent start to his career at West London.
The Ukrainian made a winter move in the winter for £88million, but he has played only inconsistently in the starting XI under successive managers and is yet to score his first Blues goal.
He earlier missed out regular playing time in his first 12 months. He made only 44 professional appearances for Shakhtar before signing to Chelsea.
Pochettino admitted the winger is making the effort that he expects of his players to integrate as he waits for his expensively assembled side to gel.
“The life of these guys, when they are so young, (it) changed,” said the manager, whose squad with an average age of just over 23 is the youngest in the Premier League this season.
He’s unique. I can’t find a player to say he is similar. I can’t remember one
“You pay big money, big change form 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 Misha, 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.
“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.”
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