‘Plays against his attributes’: Glen Johnson says 22-year-old Chelsea player is really not helping himself

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Glen Johnson has explained why he thinks Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk is really not helping himself when he’s on a football pitch.

Mykhailo Mudryk, who’s had immense pressure from supporters since the first day he joined Chelsea, is still desperately trying to find some form.

The Blues paid Shakhtar Donetsk £89million (BBC) in January for the 22-year-old, but it’s been difficult settling into English football.

He’s got zero goals in 20 Chelsea appearances so far as a left-winger. The Ukrainian forward now can’t force his way into the starting line-up under Mauricio Pochettino.

Johnson has delivered an intriguing verdict regarding Mudryk’s muted start to his Chelsea career.

He suggests the rapid attacker can really help himself out by playing more to his strengths. For example, his pace and dribbling is something he needs to use much often.

Speaking in an interview with GGRecon, Johnson said about Mudryk: “I believe he needs to be a lot more aggressive if he’s to start improving his level of performance. I don’t mean that I want him to be physically aggressive, I want him to keep pushing defenders back every time when you consider how quick and direct he is. He’s capable of blitzing any defender and sometimes I believe that he plays against his attributes. If you’re that quick, you should always be looking to take someone on a one-on-one or do something productive so that the fans can get behind you. When that happens, he may be able to find some confidence and he can hopefully grab a few more goals and assists.

“I do believe that the clock’s ticking for him because everybody talks about him every single week and I feel sorry for him because it’s not easy when you go to a big club, especially with the expectations that Mykhailo’s had on his shoulders. Ultimately, I do believe that he has the attributes to turn it around but he’s got to do it quickly.”

Mudryk definitely appears to be playing with the handbrake on right now, and a lack of confidence means we’re not seeing the best version of him.

The wide man has so many great physical attributes, which is why he’s got such big potential and cost a mega transfer summer.

Can Pochettino be the right coach to help him knit everything together on the field? We think a touch of the right man-management can get him back on track.