Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly made a decision on Mykhailo Mudryk's playing time at Stamford Bridge as journalist Paul Brown makes a behind-the-scenes claim.
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The west Londoners, despite another summer of lavish transfer spending, find themselves undergoing a really mixed start to the new Premier League season.
Chelsea have chalked up just one victory so far, a 3-0 home win against newly-promoted Luton Town, with Pochettino's side dropping points at home to Liverpool on the opening day.
Meanwhile, defeats against West Ham and Nottingham Forest most recently have highlighted the fact there is still a lot of work to do at the club.
"Very frustrating result and everyone is very disappointed in the changing room right now," explained defender Ben Chilwell after their 1-0 loss to Forest.
"If you look at the stats we dominated the game, had the possession, but the most important stat is the goals. We lost in that department and lost the game, that is the black and white of it and we need to improve."
Chelsea seriously bolstered their squad over the summer transfer window by bringing in Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, Robert Sanchez, Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo and Cole Palmer.
During that time, Kalidou Koulibaly, N'Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Cesar Azpilicueta, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ethan Ampadu and Callum Hudson-Odoi all moved in the opposite direction.
It was quite the transfer overhaul for Pochettino's debut campaign in charge, and it will perhaps take some time for Chelsea's new crop of signings to really gel together.
However, one 2023 arrival who has attracted some criticism is Mudryk; coming after he signed for Chelsea in the January window in a deal worth £88.5 million.
How good is Mykhailo Mudryk?
The Ukraine international is yet to score his first competitive goal for Chelsea and has found game time hard to come by under Pochettino so far.
Mudryk started seven league games for the Blues last term but is yet to be given the nod this season, with reporter Brown sharing why that could be.
Speaking to GiveMeSport, the journalist suggests that Pochettino doesn't trust the winger enough now, and Mudryk will need to battle his way into the Argentine's thinking.
"Mudryk, I think, again, has struggled in the little flashes that we've seen of him so far this season," said Brown.
"It doesn't really look like Pochettino is going to trust him to be a starter too often, so he's going to have to seize these opportunities when he comes off the bench.
"I think there are still question marks over whether he suits the Premier League and whether he's going to be able to adapt to it. So, he really needs to knuckle down and start showing what he's got because it's not been a great start to his Chelsea career."
The 22-year-old arrived in England with a stellar reputation, having dazzled for Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League with three goals and two assists over six 2022/2023 appearances.
Mudryk could still come good for Chelsea, as explained by former manager Graham Potter, who called the forward a "quality" one.
