In a parallel universe, Everton are sitting comfortably in the Premier League under Frank Lampard with Mykhaylo Mudryk shining at Goodison Park.
The Toffees submitted a €30m (£27m) bid for the Ukraine international last summer as they aimed to improve their attacking options under Lampard, after avoiding relegation by the skin of their teeth.
It was Fabrizio Romano who revealed that information, but unfortunately for Everton, Shakhtar Donetsk rejected the offer and held on to Mudryk until January, before selling him to Chelsea in an £88.5m deal.
Now, Lampard will finally get the chance to work with the 22-year-old.
What’s the story?
Well, the 44-year-old has returned to Stamford Bridge on an interim basis after the sacking of Graham Potter.
As a result, Lampard now gets the chance to work alongside Mudryk, albeit in a different blue than initially hoped.
The Chelsea No.15 has struggled since his January move to west London, failing to score in eight Premier League appearances as well as one outing in the Champions League.
Mudryk only has one assist to show for his efforts in those nine appearances.
The Ukrainian wonderkid has shown how his speed and dribbling skills can help him get into dangerous areas inside the box, although his finishing really has left a lot to be desired.
Lampard can help Mudryk shine
As aforesaid, Mudryk’s weak finishing has been the main takeaway from his early days at Chelsea.
Nevertheless, he now has Lampard – a master of putting the ball in the net – to help him with that issue.
Lampard scored 268 goals at club level throughout his highly successful playing career, while also netting 29 goals for England.
The Chelsea icon was one of the best finishers around, and knew exactly how to time his runs into the box, so his goalscoring expertise will hopefully rub off on Mudryk.
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