Ex-Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit says he expects Mykhailo Mudryk to be back on the bench when the Blues face Aston Villa on Sunday.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino criticised the Ukrainian after the match against Bournemouth last weekend, claiming that the player needs to “understand the game better”. Petit told Betway (via the Metro) that those remarks don’t bode well for Mudryk’s chances of starting Chelsea’s next fixture:
“Mudryk isn’t the only one struggling in that team so pointing at him in the press will not help him at all because he’s not playing with confidence. He will be thinking, ‘Why is my manager saying I don’t understand the way I should be playing in the Premier League’?”
“This is a bad sign for Mudryk and I’m pretty sure he will be on the bench next time against Aston Villa. Next time Pochettino says something like that he should look at other players too because the Bournemouth game was not Mudryk’s fault.”
Pochettino’s comments were not helpful
As Petit points out, Mudryk is clearly at a low ebb at the moment and Pochettino’s decision to single him out in public is unlikely to improve his confidence.
The 22-year-old actually started the match brightly at the Vitality Stadium, only for him to drift out of the game before he was subbed on the hour mark. As another pundit, Danny Murphy, has said recently, Mudryk needs regular starts to build up some momentum but you do get the feeling that he will be dropped again this weekend.
Chelsea have two potential replacements for Mudryk
Noni Madueke is back in training after sitting out the Bournemouth match with a muscular injury. The England Under 21 international could take Mudryk’s position in the starting lineup.
Alternatively, Cole Palmer may be given his first start. The £42.5m summer signing impressed for a second consecutive match after coming on as a substitute.
