Enzo Maresca says he is ‘going to try’ and help the struggling Chelsea star (Picture: Getty)
Enzo Maresca has explained Mykhailo Mudryk’s struggles since joining Chelsea and says he is ‘going to try and help him change’.
Mudryk’s underwhelming spell at Stamford Bridge has continued in the early stages of the new season, with the 23-year-old flattering to deceive in Chelsea’s first two games.
Chelsea spent £89m to sign the winger from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2023 and saw off fierce competition from Premier League rivals Arsenal to secure his signature.
Mudryk had shown glimpses of his potential in west London but overall struggled,scoring seven goals in 49 Premier League appearances.
Maresca, who replaced Mauricio Pochettino in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat earlier in the summer, admits Mudryk has failed to show any kind of consistency since joining the club and often makes ‘mistakes’ in the final third.
Asked whether Mudryk needs to be more consistent to justify his huge price-tag and be a success at Chelsea, Maresca said: ‘I think this is Misha, this is Mudryk, in terms of not only tonight, but in terms of since he joined the club.
‘I think he had some good moments and then some moments like flipping a coin. You don’t know if it’s one thing or the other thing.
Mudryk continues to struggle at Stamford Bridge (Picture: Getty)
‘This is Misha. If he can become more consistent, he can take one step forward. We are going to try and help him change.
‘He needs to try and understand that we are going to give him the ball in the last third. And when he’s there [it’s about] taking the right decision.
‘For me, most of the mistakes from Misha is not about the quality or the technical mistake, it’s about the choice.
Christopher Nkunku scored in Chelsea’s victory on Thursday (Picture: Getty)
‘Sometimes he has to play and he tries to do something different and we lose the ball. Sometimes he has to go one-v-one, it’s about decision making.
‘Hopefully we can help him and improve that.’
Chelsea suffered a 2-0 defeat to Premier League champions Manchester City on the opening weekend before scoring twice after half-time to beat Servette in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night.
It was a fairly unconvincing performance from Maresca’s side but second-half goals from Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke saw Chelsea down the Swiss side.
‘We are learning how to manage the game,’ said Maresca, who left Championship winners Leicester City to join Chelsea.
‘Keeping the ball is the correct intention at 2-0 up but where is not good, in our half.
‘We need to do the same on the opposite side. It was important to win the game with nine changes. There were many good things.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Chelsea news, exclusives and analysis
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
