Chelsea have spent big on attackers again this summer, as they have brought in veterans Pedro Neto and Joao Felix, as well as prospect Estevao Willian from Brazil for the 2025/26 season.
Still, Chelsea are after more attacking stars. Jadon Sancho is yet another notable possibility on the wing, while Chelsea continue to be linked to star strikers Ivan Toney and Victor Osimhen after agreeing to a deal to send Romelu Lukaku to Napoli.
After putting up six on Wolves in an impressive display, the Chelsea attack was far more subdued against far less difficult competition, falling 2-1 to Servette in the second leg of the Conference League playoff.
Fortunately, this defeat carries no consequences, as Chelsea were already through after beating Servette 2-0 in the first leg, but this result does highlight how far the Blues still need to go under new manager Enzo Maresca.
Mykhaylo Mudryk was one of the few players who performed well in the defeat, combining with Christopher Nkunku in the attack to help Chelsea avoid unmitigated embarrassment and even potential elimination at the hands of the Swiss side.
It was Mudryk’s brilliant movement and touch that won the penalty Nkunku sunk to keep Chelsea ahead in the tie, and he showed sharpness and glimpses of his potential quality throughout.
That’s in juxtaposition to Mudryk’s start to the Premier League season, including a half-time substitution in the 6-2 win over Wolves, in which Mudryk somehow did nothing despite the fact that his attacking teammates absolutely dominated.
After the game, Enzo Maresca lit into Mudryk again, flatly telling the public that the high-priced signing from Shakhtar Donetsk simply wasn’t cutting it for Chelsea.
At that point, many were wondering if Chelsea would try to shortlist Mudryk, loan him elsewhere to get his head on straight, or even try to jettison him to Manchester United for transfer target Jadon Sancho.
Instead, Mudryk got the start against Servette and showed demonstrable improvement from his weekend disasterclass against Wolves, even though Chelsea were significantly worse as a team.
Mudryk has been wildly inconsistent and incredibly disappointing for Chelsea, especially in comparison to the roughly 100 million euros paid for him, but he is no mirage.
A standout in big Champions League games against the likes of Real Madrid, Mudryk had looks from both Arsenal and Chelsea in the transfer window before ultimately choosing a move to Stamford Bridge.
Perhaps Maresca is taking a strict, “tough love” approach with the talented left winger, in the hopes that a different direction from Mauricio Pochettino’s will light a fire under the Ukrainian forward.
Remember, Mudryk is only 23. As easy as it is to write him off as a bust and wonder if he was ever even good to begin with, it makes more sense for Chelsea to try and push the talent within him. Because right now, they would not get anywhere near the initial investment on Mudryk, making a sale totally not worth it.
It would be less surprising for Mudryk to find his footing at Chelsea if Maresca’s “tough love” slowly forces him to focus and if the improvements around him can help him combine with teammates.
Maresca may also help get more out of Mudryk in transition, as he’s always been at his best with space and the ability to use his athleticism in transition. As the touches against Servette showed, the technical quality and creativity are not issues either.
If anything, it feels like Mudryk needs someone to be on him as Maresca has been and to get that focus so he can reach his potential. With Mudryk, the issues aren’t physical or technical, but rather mental, and that makes it seem like we should be optimistic of a turnaround sooner rather than later under a manager who is willing to call him out and actually push him. Complacency will be Mudryk’s greatest enemy.
