"I’m not afraid of saying it" - Pundit claims he made a mistake in his initial assessment of 22-year-old Chelsea star
Former Chelsea midfielder Gustavo Poyet has admitted that he made a mistake in his initial assessment of Mykhaylo Mudryk.
The Ukraine international signed for the Blues from Shakhtar Donetsk in January for a fee of £89 million. He was also chased by Arsenal, but the West London giants ended up signing him on a lengthy eight-and-a-half-year contract.
Mudryk has notably struggled since making the move to England, recording two assists and failing to score in 17 appearances across club competitions. Poyet, who moved to England in 1997 when he signed for the Blues, initially believed the Ukrainian winger would be a stellar signing for Chelsea.
However, the Uruguayan's views have since changed. He told 888sport (h/t Metro):
"Last year I made a mistake, and I’m not afraid of saying it. When Chelsea signed Mykhailo Mudryk, I thought it was outstanding, ‘I thought, “wow, what an unbelievable player!” Then I remembered what happened to me and loads of other foreign players when they first move to England – everyone is different and we all need different amounts of time to adapt to football."
Mudryk recently represented Ukraine's U21 team in Georgia at the 2023 U21 UEFA Euros, where he was an unused substitute in all three of their group-stage games. His defining moment came in the quarter-finals when he scored a brace in a 3-1 win against France U21.
The 22-year-old also scored his team's only goal in the 5-1 semi-final loss against Spain U21.
Pochettino lays down Chelsea's objectives for next season
Mauricio Pochettino has stated that 'winning' will be Chelsea's main objective for the upcoming season.
They finished 12th in the Premier League last term, which is their worst finish in the competition since the 1993-94 season. Speaking to the club media recently, the Argentine tactician said, via the club's official website:
"The objective is to win because football is about winning. We will have good times, create good relationships, have a nice environment and relationship with people, but the most important thing in the end is to win."
"If you win, it helps develop all the other things. Football is about results, how you achieve that is different because we are people that care about the way we achieve the results. But in the end, we want to win, be competitive, be animals that want to compete every week and in every game."
Pochettino is known for getting the best out of young players and he will have plenty of those at Stamford Bridge — Mykhaylo Mudryk included.