Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has committed to giving his squad time and assistance in adapting to his bold new tactical style ahead of the Premier League season, but no player would benefit more from special attention than Mykhaylo Mudryk.
The Ukrainian winger arrived in a £88million transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk, a deal that was heavily structured on the 23-year-old fulfilling his enormous potential.
But 18 months into his Stamford Bridge career, the jury is still out on whether he can become a Stamford Bridge icon or if he will join the club's long list of expensive failures.
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Maresca's job will be to succeed where Graham Potter, Frank Lampard and, to some extent, Mauricio Pochettino failed: to get Chelsea back into the Champions League. With a five-year deal, he has time on his side.
It seems the Italian has recognised that getting the best out of Mudryk - who is under contract until 2031 - could be a crucial part of his plan this season, at least according to what he has been working on in training. During their pre-season tour of the USA, Mudryk has been used sparingly from the bench and was hooked at half-time in the 4-1 defeat to Celtic.
Since then, Maresca has been taking a 'very hands-on' approach with some players in the squad. The Daily Mail claim that Mudryk has been given 'plenty of individual instructions' to help him adapt to Maresca's style, which is based on possession and positional play.
Other drills have included man-to-man pressing, which Maresca identified as a vital part of his coaching. The 44-year-old declared himself content with their improvement in the 3-0 win over Club America, but Mudryk only played 28 minutes in Atlanta.
Worse yet, the Italian boss appears to be happier handing a start to Raheem Sterling on the left, leaving Mudryk facing the possibility of being benched for the start of the season. Rumours continue to swirl that Chelsea would be willing to cut their losses on Mudryk, but Maresca's training ground actions say otherwise.
Maresca has been rather candid in discussing the futures of players who could be sold this summer, including Conor Gallagher, Trevoh Chalobah and Djorde Petrovic. But he is yet to offer Mudryk's name as a player who could head for the exit, and it's feasible that he sees something in Mudryk from his training performances.
A player blessed with blistering pace, supreme agility and an ability to slalom in between defenders, Mudryk is the enigma that continues to baffle the Blues. His dazzling debut against Liverpool in January 2023 suggested he would be a player with confidence and direct running, but he has only produced flashes of brilliance since then.
He has scored only seven goals in 58 appearances since arriving in west London, yet there was certainly a marked improvement in his performances in the first half of 2023-24. He found the net in crucial games against Brighton & Hove Albion FC and Newcastle, and won over some sections of the fanbase who had questioned his performances.
With more work with Maresca on the training ground and some patience from the tactician, Chelsea may be set to see the best version of Mudryk yet this season.
