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Mykhailo Mudryk is a special case for Chelsea and for football. He is being treated, it seems, not so much as a footballer but as a kid that needs protecting. He engages in games of crossbar challenge with his manager, he is spoken about as one of the best players in the world during training by his teammates. He is willed on to success by the Chelsea faithful from the stands in times of frustrating output.
It is a testament to himself that despite having not scored a goal for the club or assisted this season, at the time, he was applauded off the pitch last week against Brighton. His efforts are appreciated and the unearthed, unleashed talent is truly being pushed to the forefront by the fans.
In a time of change he has experienced more than most. Takeovers, transfers and backroom changes aside, Mudryk has been moved, as a young boy, not yet man, from his home country due to war. He has been propelled into personal turmoil whilst asked to perform at the top level.
At Shakhtar Donetsk he was the glimmering hope of Ukrainian football during a time that it wasn't safe to play matches in the country. Forcing his ways into headlines and towards the top of scouting lists for clubs across Europe, his burst onto the scene in last season's Champions League group stage is typically Mudryk; entirely unpredictable and with the full bite of energy capable.
Now he's spent 10 months in west London having been long down the path of going to the capital's north. His price tag is inflated on a daily basis - a number sits at a still sizeable £62million and won't get bigger until group and individual goals are achieved at which point it is deemed worth the added expense - and his every touch scrutinised more than most.
For someone with experiences that go above and beyond what anyone should encounter, let alone at the age of 22 and in full view of malicious public expectations, it has not been a surprise to see him fail to yet spark. Onto his second permanent manager - fourth overall - since arriving, Mudryk is now settling down on the pitch.
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He has been extremely carefully managed by Mauricio Pochettino in the process and the rewards appear to be coming. Stunted over the summer due to injury after featuring in the Under-21 European Championships, something he didn't have to play in but chose to regardless, Pochettino took his time with the winger.
Early weeks saw balance and trust dictate selection over the expected bravery and bold decisions of domineering attack. Now Mudryk has been let onto the pitch, still it feels with casting glances back towards Pochettino as some father-come-teacher figure letting him enter the world for himself.
Few players have been treated this warmly this publicly. Pochettino is a strong man-manager and works very well with young players too. It is Mudryk that has been the most evident though. Due to his complex nature and potential to reach the highest level of everyone - a statement that nobody quite knows just how crazy it really is - it has been a much needed patch of form that he has found.
Now on the back of four starts in a row, a run that will become five if he is fit to face Burnley on Saturday, the grooving of skills and maverick, Mudryk-like consistency is coming. It is still wildly unpredictable but for him it is getting close to being trustworthy.
Evidence of just how far outside the normal realms of interpersonal connection the Argentine has gone to with Mudryk has been expressed once more. Taking to Instagram, Mudryk posted an image of himself with Pochettino at Cobham, both having one hand on Pochettino's book 'A Brave New World'.
Pochettino has given his winger the book, written by Guillem Balague and formed like a diary of Pochettino throughout the 2016/17 season at Tottenham. "Thank you for the gift," Mudryk wrote online.
The book itself provides an insight into just how Pochettino likes to work and within it are details of overarching plans for Mudryk himself. Pochettino's development of now Spurs captain Son Heung-min has been a key theme for some of the ideal outcomes for Mudryk with the prospect of growing the 22-year-old in his second season at the club.
For both parties it is a credit to their hardwork up to this point that a balance on the pitch has been able to be found. Who now knows just what impact some light reading could have?
