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Mauricio Pochettino has admitted it will take a 'unique' solution in order to help struggling Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk. The 22-year-old, who is still without a goal for the Blues, arrived in January earlier this year but has failed to find consistency in the final third throughout his time at Stamford Bridge.
The Ukrainian international's hefty £62million initial price tag would've no doubt added unnecessary pressure onto his shoulders having arrived at the club with it in its worst state in the past 25 years. Neither Graham Potter nor Frank Lampard could get the best out of Mudryk, but under Mauricio Pochettino, there has been ground gained.
The Blues have a history of players early in their development leaving to go on to become some of the best in the world, with Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne being constant reminders of their failure to hold onto talent in the past. Now it's clear Pochettino isn't going to make the same mistake with Mudryk.
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Before the Carabao Cup win over Brighton in midweek, the Blues boss highlighted how he and Mudryk play a game of crossbar challenge against each other and that it'll take time to build up his confidence after a tough start to life in the Premier League. "The problem with confidence is we cannot buy it in the supermarket. It is about time.
"You know how it works in the brain. It is about little by little creating situations that can provide the trust and the confidence and the belief.
"One example: today, with Mudryk, I like to play hitting the crossbar from outside the box. He said to me today: 'No, I’m not going to play any more with you because always you win.' I said: 'Yes, because I have the belief – the balance between belief and quality I know very well because I am 50 years old and you are still young.' Today was the first time that we draw.
"Now you start to believe in yourself, you start to believe in your quality because, if not, it is not good balance in between belief and quality. It is difficult. You work on the psychology of the player and provide the players with the confidence to touch the ball and score. It’s a small example."
However, over the last few weeks, there has been a clear and obvious improvement in Mudryk's game. Nothing showed that more than when the star received a standing ovation from the Stamford Bridge crowd after his showing against Brighton in that 1-0 win last week.
Now, Pochettino is hoping that the star can carry that momentum over into the west London derby against Fulham, and either get himself on the score-sheet for the first time or at least contribute in a positive way. Speaking ahead of the game, the Chelsea boss highlighted Mudryk's situation as one that he enjoys because it gives him a 'challenge' to solve.
"He is quite unique. I think it is a good challenge for him and for [the coaching staff]," Pochettino explained. "Misha is a very talented player but you need to go with him very slowly. [It’s] cultural and everything is completely different to [how we] Latin people [are].
"He is now trying to be more open and trying to adapt and be more involved in every single situation, not only on the field, off the field also and he is making a massive effort to try and integrate himself and understand better what it means to play like a team."
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