“His mentality is stronger now,” “Start him against Liverpool” – Jimmy Floyd believes 22-year-old star will shine under Pochettino
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink claims that Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk has managed to catch his eye in a positive way during pre-season.
Mykhailo Mudryk, who joined the Blues during the January window, has struggled living up to his £89million (BBC) transfer fee so far.
However, the 22-year-old’s now had half a year to settle into his new home at Stamford Bridge.
Former Chelsea striker Hasselbaink really likes what Mudryk has looked like during this summer’s pre-season tour of the United States.
The left-winger appeared to have a lot of match sharpness and he scored a stunning goal in a friendly against Brighton that should boost his confidence.
In particular, he’s noticed the player looks stronger.
“Mudryk has come back stronger and wants to show he’s going to be part of the team. It means he’s mentally strong because he had a difficult time,” Hasselbaink told talkSPORT.
We agree with Hasselbaink that Chelsea’s No 15 is a man on a mission during pre-season.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino recently described Mudryk as someone with “massive potential”, as quoted by the club’s official website.
Our prediction is that the speedster will get the chance to make his mark in the Premier League opener against Liverpool.
With Christopher Nkunku reportedly absent next Sunday, Mudryk needs to make sure he’s ready to fire and start the new season in fine form. The Evening Standard recently claimed that Nkunku could be sidelined through injury for some weeks and is ‘likely’ to miss Liverpool.