"They need to feel the pain sometimes” - Pochettino offers interesting perspective on Chelsea star’s development
Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino opened up about Mykhaylo Mudryk's development at the club during his press conference ahead of the game against Manchester City on February 17.
The Ukraine international has had a very difficult start to life at Stamford Bridge since securing a big-money move in January last year. Chelsea beat off competition from rivals Arsenal to secure a £88.5 million transfer for Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk. He consequently became one of the club's most expensive players in history.
Despite his huge potential, the 21-year-old electric winger hasn't been able to keep up with the heavy expectations on his shoulders. He's contributed just four goals and five assists in 42 games across competitions for the club. He has also been in and out of Pochettino's starting XI and has failed to start a game for the Blues this February.
When asked about Mudryk's development, Pochettino said via Football.London:
"Because it's part of the evolution, the development. They needs to feel sometimes the pain, young guys. Otherwise it's always so easy. The most important thing is the way you manage this situation."
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old Ukrainian has played 25 games for Chelsea across all competitions this season, scoring four goals and registering two assists.
It will be interesting to see if Pochettino will hand Mudryk a rare start against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.
Chris Sutton predicts winner of Manchester City Vs Chelsea PL clash
BBC pundit Chris Sutton has tipped Manchester City to pick up all three points when they face Chelsea on Saturday, February 17.
Both teams played out a thrilling 4-4 draw when they met in November last year, with former City player Cole Palmer getting the equalising goal for the Blues.
However, Sutton believes that he doesn't expect a repeat of the encounter this Saturday, as he expects Pep Guardiola's men to be a handful for their visitors. He wrote in his column for BBC:
"City are just too good. They have got so many good players, and more to come off the bench. Jack Grealish's injury against FC Copenhagen was a blow but they had Jeremy Doku to come on, who is a nightmare to play against."
He concluded:
"Chelsea gave it a real go in that draw in November, but the defending champions have gone up a notch or two since then, while Mauricio Pochettino's side keep going up and down."
Manchester City are second in the Premier League standings, two points behind Liverpool with a game in hand. Meanwhile, the Blues are 10th, 18 points behind City.