Ally McCoist thinks that Chelsea youngster Mykhailo Mudryk has plenty of similarities with teammate Raheem Sterling.
Chelsea spent big money mid-season to sign Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in a deal that could end up costing as much as £89million (BBC).
However, the 22-year-old’s still an emerging talent coming through and now looking to work his way into the best Blues line-up.
He’s a Ukrainian left-winger with express pace and eye-catching dribbling, but it’s clear from his opening few months at Stamford Bridge that he needs to improve his end product by quite some way.
TalkSPORT pundit McCoist has delivered a fairly positive update on Mudryk.
Interestingly, the wide player reminds him of a younger version of Sterling, who struggled with his finishing in the early stages of his career. Now 28, Sterling is a senior figure in the current Blues squad and a great role model to his younger teammates, albeit he’s not been at his very best this season.
When discussing Mudryk’s future at Chelsea, McCoist told talkSPORT: “I think there’s a player in there. I think he’ll come good.
“He reminds me a little bit of Sterling years ago at Manchester City. Lightning pace, but question marks against his quality of finishing. His finishing definitely improved, and I think Mudryk will be the same.
“Mudryk is at the stage now where his pace will get him so many opportunities but he actually needs to slow down in his finishing and realise that 9/10 he’ll have a split second more than he thinks he has to think about the finish.
“Mudryk’s one of these players who would be exciting to work with and exciting to play with. I’m a fan.”
Some people do take longer than others to adjust, so we’re certainly not writing Mudryk off yet.
He’s excited in flashes during 15 Chelsea appearances to date, but he’s been in and out of the side. The fact he’s still waiting for his first goal tells its own story, too.
However, we believe he can build some momentum over the summer and look to show his potential when next season begins.
There’s definitely time for him to prove why the Blues splashed the cash to get him!