Chelsea flop Mudyrk ‘impresses’ Pochettino with bold Ukraine U21s decision to ‘recapture form’ | OneFootball

Chelsea winger Mykhaylo Mudryk has made himself available for Ukraine Under-21s’ European Championships campaign in the summer, according to a report.

Mudryk joined Chelsea for an initial £62million in the 2023 winter transfer window after Arsenal had made him their number-one target.

The transfer fee could rise to £88m after the Ukrainian forward signed a whopping eight-year contract with the Blues.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was very eager to bring Mudryk to the Emirates and the north Londoners reportedly made two big-money bids to sign him from Shakhtar before Chelsea swooped in and offered the Ukrainian club more preferable and ‘realistic’ terms.

After paying a large amount of money for the 22-year-old, Chelsea will be disappointed by the youngster’s performances.

His debut against Liverpool at Anfield was actually fantastic and what many Blues fans thought was a sign of things to come, but it has not quite clicked yet.

Mudryk was one of several wingers signed by the west London club in the 2022/23 campaign, which has not really helped the Ukrainian international, who has been a massive disappointment thus far.

Next season will be a big one for Mudryk, who is not expected to be sold given his contract situation and heavy investment, but has a lot of work to do over pre-season to become a regular starter under new manager Mauricio Pochettino.

And one of the 22-year-old’s first steps to try and win over Pochettino appears to have paid off.

According to The Telegraph’s Matt Law, Mudryk is ‘ready’ to represent his country at this summer’s European Under-21 Championship.

This decision to help ‘recapture form and confidence’ and find some ‘rhythm’ has ‘impressed’ Pochettino and his staff, though his spot in the Ukraine squad is yet to be confirmed.

Chelsea have given Mudryk their blessing to play in the tournament.

The 22-year-old played in his nation’s senior team friendly against Germany on Monday, with Serhiy Rebrov’s side preparing for Euro 2024 qualifiers against North Macedonia and Malta, who England are also facing during the international break.

Mudryk remains illegible for the U21s despite being a full international. He has 16 caps at U21 level.

He has already enjoyed some time off after the end of the season and even if Ukraine reach the final of the tournament on July 8, he will have more time for a holiday before Chelsea’s pre-season tour of the United States.

The Telegraph report notes that Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi opted not to represent England U21s after making an appearance for the senior team under Gareth Southgate.