‘Brilliant’ Chelsea player is about follow Pedro Neto’s path and break into Chelsea’s best XI

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While Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been pretty consistent with his side for the Premier League campaign, Pedro Neto has proven in recent weeks there’s a route into the starting XI for anybody.

There’s been a pretty clear split in the Chelsea squad between players for the league and others for the cups. In fact, Darren Bent has enjoyed seeing Enzo Maresca pick two separate teams for different competitions because it’s keeping a lot of people involved this campaign.

For Pedro Neto, he’s spent a large chunk of the season so far starting games for the ‘B-team’ in the cup ties.

The 24-year-old winger, who joined the Blues from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer, deserves massive credit for staying professional and making an impact during any opportunity he’s on the pitch.

Now, he’s forced his way into the starting line-up for the Premier League, playing every minute of the last three consecutive top-flight matches.

Neto has shown that the door is certainly not permanently shut for Chelsea stars to break into Maresca’s best XI, and one teammate looks like he could be treading the same path.

• READ MORE: The Chelsea chief who really pushed them to sign Pedro Neto, it wasn’t Todd Boehly

Mykhailo Mudryk can gatecrash best Chelsea XI like Pedro Neto

When looking for the next player to force their way into Chelsea’s Premier League XI, Mykhailo Mudryk could be the outstanding candidate to follow Neto’s route.

Mudryk, 23, is an a position where he’s struggling for minutes in the league. In fact, he’s only started one top-flight match all season, which was back in August during the 6-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

However, the left-winger has quietly been impressing since with some standout performances in the cups. Also, Maresca has looked to him as a substitute in the previous three Premier League games.

Here is a look at Mudryk’s record so far this season:

It definitely feels like the winger’s form and confidence is on an upward curve in the last couple of months, so he may be timing his run into the league XI. Peter Crouch believes Chelsea’s Mudryk is starting to look loads more confident on the pitch.

This coincides with teammate Noni Madueke dropping his own levels, too.

In theory, Mudryk could come into the side on the left wing, while Pedro Neto shifts across to the right.

There’s no doubt Mudryk injects some extra pace and directness to the Blues team when he’s on the pitch. Yes, his game is still a bit erratic and unpredictable, but he’s definitely showing more consistent levels of late.

Mykhailo Mudryk form

Mudryk’s been involved in Chelsea’s last six consecutive matches across all competitions in some capacity, so it feels like he’s on the cusp of something great.

Here is a look at how Fotmob has rated Mudryk in his most recent appearances:

Jason Cundy claims Mudryk was “brilliant” in Chelsea’s win over Panathinaikos, where he had one goal and two assists in the Conference League group stage match. His next aim should be to replicate the same kind of success in the Premier League.