Mykhaylo Mudryk has been questioned after his worrying performance in Chelsea’s 4-1 defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Mudryk was heavily linked with Arsenal in January but he ended up joining Chelsea.
The Premier League outfit paid an initial £62m to sign him from Shakhtar Donetsk. The fee for Mudryk could raise to £89m with add-ons.
The 22-year-old has struggled for the Blues over the past couple of months as he has not scored in his 17 appearances across all competitions.
Mudryk impressed against Liverpool in his debut but he has been slammed after his showing against Man Utd on Thursday night.
The winger spurned several clear chances to score and his performance made it clear that he is lacking confidence. Chelsea were poor overall as they were comfortably beaten 4-1 by their Premier League rivals.
Stan Collymore thinks Mudryk’s “biggest problem is trying to live up to this price tag” after Chelsea “massively overpaid” for him.
‘Thursday night at Old Trafford against Manchester United was another disappointing evening for Mykhailo Mudryk,’ Collymore wrote for Caught Offside.
READ MORE: Man Utd answer £85m Mount question but Lampard must retire after all-time worst season
‘He’s got outrageous pace and shows a clear willingness to learn and improve, so from that perspective, he deserves the opportunity to get embedded properly in the team, go off, have a holiday, come back for pre-season and go again next season.
‘The biggest problem he has is trying to live up to his price tag. Chelsea massively overpaid for him; spending £88.5m on a player who had played less than 50 games for Shakhtar Donetsk was a huge gamble.
‘He’s just a baby in terms of professional football – he’s basically a youth player that has only recently been promoted to the first team. If he had come through Chelsea’s academy and endured the same six months, no one would really be questioning it, but the fact he’s been signed for nearly £100m shows just how crazy the transfer was.
‘Mauricio Pochettino is coming in though and he has a style of football that you would assume will benefit Mudryk, so if the Argentine can’t get a tune out of him and we’re talking about him, in the same way, this time next year, then I think it’ll be time to worry – but as for right now, I think he still has huge potential and next season I do expect him to show vast improvements in his individual game.’
READ MORE: Chelsea ‘fans’ angry with Liverpool, Man Utd target but Lampard gives Blues ‘hope for future’