Roberto De Zerbi: 'Mykhaylo Mudryk can become a top player for Chelsea'

The West Londoners fought off stern competition from Arsenal to sign the 22-year-old for a whopping £88m in the January transfer window.

Mudryk made a promising cameo appearance on his debut as a substitute against Liverpool towards the end of January, but he has since struggled to make the desired impact with the Blues.

The Ukraine international has started five of his 10 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, including four starts in the Premier League, but he is still searching for his first goal for the club and has only registered one assist.

Before joining Chelsea, Mudryk began his career in his homeland with Shakhtar Donetsk and following loan spells with Arsenal Kyiv and Desna Chernihiv, the winger established himself as a key player in the Shakhtar first team.

Mudryk, who recorded seven goals and six assists in 12 games for Shakhtar during the first half of this season, was coached by current Brighton boss De Zerbi during his time with the Ukrainian giants in the 2021-22 campaign.

De Zerbi ended his time with Shakhtar amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year and is now enjoying a successful period in charge at Brighton, who travel to West London to face Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday.

Ahead of the contest, De Zerbi has hailed the "special" relationship he and his backroom staff have with Mudryk and believes the winger has a bright future ahead of him at Chelsea.

"Me and my staff have a special relationship [with Mudryk]. He is like a son," the Italian told reporters on Friday as quoted by Sussex Live.

"I hope he stays on the bench and doesn't play but I love him. We hope the best for him... from the next game.

"I think for Chelsea it has been a difficult season but they are still a big, big, big team. One season can happen like this. For any young player it is more difficult to adapt to another country and another style of football.

"Chelsea have many big players and I think it is a normal situation for him, he has to adapt and to understand his life has changed but I think he is good, smart guy. He can become a top, top player."

De Zerbi was also full of admiration for Mudryk at the end of last year when he claimed that the winger "has the potential" to win the Ballon d'Or.

Mudryk will be pushing to start for Frank Lampard's Chelsea side on Saturday, with the Blues seeking to close the seven-point gap that currently separates them from seventh-placed Brighton in the Premier League table.