Former Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has hailed Chelsea wide man Mykhailo Mudryk as ‘scary’ despite his slow start in London.
Theo Walcott thinks that Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk can be truly ‘scary’ thanks to his blistering speed.
Chelsea’s spending under Todd Boehly has been pretty unbelievable and Mudryk is a perfect case.
The Blues struck a staggering £88.5million deal for Mudryk in January, luring him away from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Mudryk had dazzled in Ukraine with 12 goals and 17 assists in just 44 games but he’s yet to rekindle that form at Chelsea.
The 22-year-old has old managed two goals and no assists in 20 Chelsea games, so whilst most are sympathetic to the off-field issues he is going through amid the ongoing conflict in his native Ukraine, there is also an acceptance that he must offer more.
Theo Walcott sees danger in Mykhailo Mudryk
One man who knows all about being a winger with blistering speed is Theo Walcott.
The former England man used his pace at the top level for many years and sees similar traits in Mudryk.
Walcott has told Sky Sports that he thinks Mudryk is ‘scary’ having faced him in the Premier League last season.
Walcott is now telling Mudryk to keep going and keep using his pace against defenders, believing that he needs to use his ‘strength’ as much as possible.
“I faced him last year and he faced me up… yeah, he’s scary, he’s very quick,” said Walcott. “You’ve got to trust your strength and his strength is all pace – use it,” he added.
Arsenal may have had lucky escape
In another world, Walcott would have been taking about Mudryk as an Arsenal player.
Arsenal chased Mudryk for weeks, even months ahead of the January transfer window earlier this year.
Mudryk looked destined for North London but Arsenal and Shakhtar just couldn’t agree a deal.
Chelsea remarkably came in and hijacked the deal, throwing huge money at Shakhtar to pip Arsenal.
Arsenal may have been gutted at the time, but eight months on, they may have actually had a rather lucky escape.
There is still time for Mudryk to turn things around and show his best form, but that £88.5million fee looks exorbitant now.
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