Paul Merson has criticised Chelsea’s signing of Mykhailo Mudryk after Graham Potter left him on the bench until the final seven minutes of their loss to Tottenham Hotspur
Mykhailo Mudryk is “not Graham Potter’s player” as the Chelsea boss “didn’t want” the £88million man according to Paul Merson.
The Ukrainian winger has struggled since signing for the Blues from Shakhtar Donetsek in January, despite impressing off the bench in his debut against Liverpool. Potter opted against starting Mudryk for a second consecutive league match on Sunday as Chelsea fell to a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, with the 22-year-old only playing the final seven minutes.
The decision has prompted Merson to argue that Potter did not want to sign Mudryk and feels it is the reason for his lack of starts.
Merson told Sky Sports: “At Tottenham, Chelsea did not look like scoring a goal in a year of Sundays. Mykhailo Mudryk is an £88m signing sitting on the bench, it tells you he’s not Potter’s player.
“If he was his player and if Potter would have gone to the board and said he needed Mudryk, he would have to play him.”
Mudryk arrived at Stamford Bridge after scoring 10 goals and providing eight assists in 18 appearances across all competitions for Shakhtar during the first half of the season before signing an eight-and-a-half year deal with Chelsea.
However, he has so far yet to score or assist in his six appearances for his new club, making just two starts in the league since he moved to England.
The Ukrainian international was one of eight signings made by Chelsea during the winter transfer window as Potter spent almost £300million adding to his squad.
Those signings have failed to ignite Chelsea’s season, though, with the loss to Spurs leaving Potter’s side 10th in the table and 14 points adrift of the top four with 14 matches remaining.
Chelsea are winless in their last five in the Premier League and have won just one of their last nine league matches. The Blues are also out of both domestic cups and trail Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League round of 16 tie, leading to mounting pressure surrounding Potter’s future.
SOURCE: dailystar.co.uk
