“A smart guy”, “He can become a top player”, “but drop him” – Coach tells Lampard to drop Chelsea star against him
Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi has admitted that he hopes Mykhaylo Mudryk remains on the bench when his side take on Chelsea. The Seagulls will travel to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, April 15 to take on the struggling west London club.
Ahead of the game, Seagulls boss Roberto De Zerbi opened up on his relationship with Chelsea winger Mudryk, whom he managed at Shakhtar Donetsk.
Mudryk has made a disappointing start to his Stamford Bridge career. He is yet to score in 10 appearances since an £89 million move from Shakhtar Donetsk in January.
However, De Zerbi has tipped the Ukraine international to become a success at Stamford Bridge and insisted that he has a special relationship with the youngster. He said at his pre-match press conference, as quoted by Metro:
“Me and my staff have a special relationship [with Mudryk]. He is like a son to us. I hope he stays on the bench and doesn’t play but I love him. We hope the best for him… from the next game.”
He added: “I think for Chelsea it has been a difficult season but they are still a big, big, big team. One season can happen like this. For any young player it is more difficult to adapt to another country and another style of football. Chelsea have many big players and I think it is a normal situation for him, he has to adapt and to understand his life has changed but I think he is good, smart guy. He can become a top, top player.”
Mudryk scored two goals and provided nine assists in 19 games under De Zerbi at Shakhtar Donetsk.