Chelsea 'warn £88m Mudryk to tone down gym work'
Chelsea tell Mykhailo Mudryk to ‘tone down’ his gym workouts after training amid concerns the £88m flop is ‘overdoing it’ as he tries to find form after just eight starts and zero goals since joining
- The 22-year-old has registered only two assists since joining Chelsea in January
- But there is an optimism that the player can recapture his budding form in time
- Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off!
Chelsea have warned Mykhailo Mudryk to tone down his gym work over concerns that the winger is overdoing his intensive training regime, according to reports.
The Ukraine international – who was signed by the club for a fee that could yet top £88million (€100m) during the January transfer window – is said to subject himself to punishing workouts in a bid to maintain his fitness and recapture the form that brought him to Stamford Bridge.
After dazzling with Shakhtar Donetsk, Mudryk was pursued by a number of top flight clubs, with Arsenal the most persistent suitors before Chelsea swooped to secure the 22-year-old’s services.
But since the move to west London, Mudryk has struggled for minutes and performances in blue, registering just eight starts under four different managers during the 2022-23 campaign and the start of Chelsea’s 2023-24 season.
Whilst many clubs are keen to reward diligence in their players’ fitness programmes, Mudryk’s displays of hard work off the pitch are starting to spark concern behind the scenes at Cobham.
Chelsea are thought to have told Mykhailo Mudryk to tone down his intensive gym work
The player frequently trains above and beyond what is required in a bid to improve his fitness and form
The west London club shared images of the player working out whilst on their pre-season tour
As per the Athletic, Mudryk’s dedication is such that he visits gyms away from the club to do additional work, as well as fulfilling Chelsea’s exacting requirements.
A source shared: ‘He will do what Chelsea ask him to do training-wise, but will always find time for extra gym work. Players notice he is committed.’
They also urged patience for the player’s development, adding: ‘He wants to be better. People need to leave him alone. He is a nice lad.’
Whilst Chelsea may have gently cautioned the player on whether he might be overworking himself, little has changed since his days at Shakhtar, where he also favoured workouts with heavy weights and powerlifting.
Mudryk works with his personal trainer Dima Chapovskyi – who frequently shares videos of gym sessions to his Instagram account – in a bid to supposedly build up his stamina and physical readiness.
Despite his lack of gametime, Mudryk is notably one of the fastest players in the league, and his team-mate Wesley Fofana named him the quickest player he has played against – faster even than his French compatriot Kylian Mbappe.
But he has had little do this season under new manager Pochettino, hopes of a strong start hampered by a minor calf injury that kept him out when Chelsea faced Luton in their 3-0 home victory.
Mudryk’s lacklustre start to life at Stamford Bridge may in part be attributed to external factors, with the player previously sharing that he calls his parents in Ukraine every day to get an update as they continue to live in the war-torn country.
Arriving in west London against the backdrop of an influx of new players and a revolving door of managers may have further impacted his ability to settle and develop at his new club.
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The 22-year-old has had a difficult start to life in west London, registering no goals and only two assists since joining in January
Despite the turbulency of his first season, both his team-mates and manager have provided strong assessments of his talents.
Ben Chillwell shared that he believes Mudryk has ‘endless potential’ that is yet to be fulfilled, whereas Pochettino hailed the Ukrainian as an enormous talent’ urging him to build up continuity in training.
‘He’s a young player and a player that has a lot of talent,’ the head coach said. ‘I think he needs to build his continuity and trust (with his team-mates), work hard in the training sessions during the week and continue to show he is ready to perform.
‘We need to also build that trust with him and he needs to build it with us as part of the team, as is the same with many of our younger players.’
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