New haircut, new manager, perhaps even a new Chelsea, but it appears to be the same Mykhailo Mudryk.
Against mid-Championship-level opposition, Mudryk failed to take a shot on target or create a meaningful chance. Rather than the progress the club expected he would make, he appears to be regressing if anything.
This is not an issue with effort, talent or physical ability, as has always been clear, rather an ability to coordinate those three assets alongside intelligent decision-making.
Slide-tackling Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall within the first minute highlighted both how desperate he is to impress and how far he is from doing so.
If Servette aren’t Mudryk’s current level, then what is? While Raheem Sterling’s exile and impending exit is not solely linked to the Ukrainian’s continued first-team status, Chelsea’s belief in Mudryk and reticence to be humiliated after paying £62m to hijack his Arsenal deal certainly play a significant role.
But what can Enzo Maresca do to “help” the 23-year-old, as he said he wants to, and what should he do?
i explains Chelsea’s current options.
Give him a run of starts
As Maresca rightly identified after the Servette win, Mudryk’s two biggest issues are decision-making and consistency.
“[Mudryk] had some good moments and then some moments like flipping a coin,” the Italian said. “You don’t know if it’s one thing or the other thing.
“We are going to try to help him change. He needs to try to 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 are not about the quality or the technical mistake – it’s about the choice.
“Sometimes he tries to do something different and we lose the ball. Sometimes he has to go one-vs-one. It’s about decision making. Hopefully we can help him improve that.
“If he can become more consistent, he can take one step forward.”
Decision-making is a common problem in players who have natural physical advantages. Both in Shakhtar Donetsk’s academy and in the first team, Mudryk was by far the quickest player and best dribbler, meaning he didn’t have to make the right decision every time to beat his man or score, and had more time to do so when required. This instils confidence in the prodigy and anxiety in opponents, further skewing the balance of power.
The psychological challenge when then faced with defenders who are used to facing incredibly quick and technically capable forwards is twofold. The first one is obvious – you have to make better decisions. As is clearly the case with Mudryk, this can require a fundamental rewiring of your footballing brain and takes time and compassionate education.
The second is the issue of confidence. Once you lose trust in your own decision-making, it can be incredibly hard to recover. The pressure you place on yourself only erodes that trust further, let alone external noise and expectation.
Your judgement worsens, the pressure continues to increase, the cycle only becomes more vicious and damaging. Then your club goes and forces out your high-profile peer, focussing the spotlight back on everything you do. None of this is easy, or Mudryk’s fault.
But it does illustrate why him remaining at Chelsea throughout this season is the worst of the three available options. Mudryk should be playing in an environment which alleviates the pressure from him and allows him to develop his judgement while every bad decision doesn’t incite a barrage of bile and boos.
This isn’t happening at Stamford Bridge any time soon, where fan and media scrutiny has never been greater and signings mean he is likely to only play a bit-part role of substitute appearances and cup starts.
It’s worth saying this appears the most likely course of action, but it shouldn’t be.
Send him out on loan
A loan feels like the best of all worlds. Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali can save face in the short term while Mudryk can temporarily exit the spotlight to work on his flaws and delay any fundamental decisions on his future.
Chelsea are short on available loan slots given their youth transfer policy and bloated squad, but rehoming Mudryk this season should be a priority.
Aiming for mid-table in Ligue 1, Strasbourg feel a lot closer to Mudryk’s current level. The club is entirely dedicated to youth development, somewhere where Chelsea could monitor his progress minute-by-minute while steering his development away from the British media and fans who appear to pity him.
Of course other clubs are available, but in a case as delicate and financially sensitive as this, with tens of millions of pounds and a man’s career at stake, taking advantage of Chelsea’s multi-club system is the smartest choice.
Sell him to the highest bidder
There is also a fair argument that within less than two years, the relationship between Mudryk and Chelsea has become so toxic as to be irrecoverable.
Does Maresca have the time or the inclination to dedicate Mudryk the required attention and space to save his Chelsea career? Is the Chelsea chaos likely to subside enough over the next couple of years to provide him the stability he requires? Will fans really be able to forgive and ignore another season of attack-murdering mistakes?
The Bundesliga would feel an obvious home for Mudryk’s strengths, traditionally allowing more space behind opposition defences than any other top five league.
While they would be unlikely to pay more than a third of Chelsea’s initial £62m outlay, which would be a significant issue for the ownership, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund have both previously acted as homes for talents which has lost their way. Solely considering Mudryk’s personal and career development, this could be an excellent option.
But it is also the least likely of the available choices, given Chelsea have made it clear they are not prepared to lose money on outgoings unless in extreme circumstances.
Whether they are correct or not, the club clearly believes he is worth persevering with and Maresca has been tasked with personally overseeing his development. As has been the case at lot of late at Chelsea, the worst option may well be the one they choose.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/FN01pPJ
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