Mykhailo Mudryk has 'Cristiano Ronaldo-esque dedication' and can be 'the next Eden Hazard'

The long-running transfer saga of January 2023 took a final twist at the weekend as a seemingly Arsenal-bound Mudryk signed for the west London outfit instead.

Advertisement

Mudryk has set Chelsea back £88million, an eye-watering amount considering until very recently he was something of an unknown quantity to those who don't follow Ukrainian football.

Rocking locks which bear a striking resemblance to Peter Andre in that Mysterious Girl video, Mudryk was initially better known on social media for videos of his impressive flicks and tricks.

Mudryk's dedication to improving his tekkers irked his manager, Luis Castro, meaning he struggled for game time under the Portuguese. However, things changed for Mudryk when now Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi took the reins at Shakhtar.

Advertisement

De Zerbi handed the player his Champions League debut in September 2021, arguably becoming the first step in his journey to the Premier League.

British-Ukrainian journalist Andrew Todos recalls to talkSPORT.com how a stirring display at the Bernabeu in November 2011 saw the Real Madrid fans give Mudryk a standing ovation as he was substituted late in the second half of the match which Shakhtar only lost 2-1.

Not bad considering the Los Blancos faithful only reserve outside praise for the likes of Ronaldinho and have even been known to boo Cristiano Ronaldo.

Advertisement

Advertisement

But just two months after the Champions League group stage came to an end, everything changed in Ukraine following Russia invasion of the country.

This could've been enough to curtail the career of a very promising talent but Mudryk's success just continued to grow.

"If anything it sort of worked to Mudryk's benefit out of the circumstances that have arisen in Ukrainian football," Todos said.

"The foreign players left, including the ones that were direct competition for him. And as a result of that during the spring when they had loads of charity friendlies across Europe, Mudryk was playing in every single one of them and playing a starring role.

Advertisement

"He was becoming one of the new leaders of the side."

Mudryk's price tag and nationality have naturally led to comparisons with Ukrainian football icon Andriy Shevchenko.

De Zerbi recently said Mudryk has the capability of winning a Ballon d'Or, something Shevchenko achieved in 2004, but Todos suggested the 22-year-old has a similar mentality to a legend who's won the accolade five times.

Advertisement

"I think everyone in Ukraine expects this guy to be the new leader in the side," Todos added. "Not in terms of being captain material but just one of the best players in the team.

"They see him as a very hard-working talent, one who's got Cristiano Ronaldo-esque dedication to football where he's training every single day. He talks about the focus of what he wants to do, he wants to win a Ballon d'Or, he wants to win everything there is.

"Some people even say he's the best player to come out of Ukraine since Shevchenko."

Advertisement

"Having seen him live on multiple occasions he is one of the fastest, if not the fastest player I've ever seen on the football pitch," Todos added.

"With his personal trainer he does extra sessions with in the gym, they're trying for an extra goal, ambitious as it is, to try and record a 40km/h sprint!"

At just 5ft 7ins they may be concerns about whether Mudryk will be able to handle to rough and tumble of the Premier League though.

But Todos doesn't believe this will be a problem for Mudryk, while Alex Barker, the man behind the Euro Expert account, suggested the new Blue could emulate one of Chelsea's most iconic players of recent times.

Advertisement

"I think Mudryk has the potential to be the next Eden Hazard," Barker told the Zoryan Lodonsk podcast.

"His dribbling is so good and it reminds me of Hazard, in the way that he accelerates and decelerates."

Advertisement

And if Mudryk gets to those heights, Arsenal will rue not getting him more than Spurs regretted not getting the Willian deal done back in 2013.