Chelsea urged to replace player who Frank Leboeuf ‘wouldn’t even sign for £1m’

Frank Leboeuf believes Mykhailo Mudryk is a ‘lost cause’ and says he wouldn’t even sign him for £1m following his struggles at Chelsea.

The Blues had to see off competition from Arsenal to win the race for Mudryk but the Ukrainian has severely underwhelmed at Stamford Bridge following a £62m move from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023.

Mudryk failed to score in his first 23 appearances for Chelsea and his overall record – seven goals in 58 appearances – is disappointing for a big-money signing.

‘Mudryk has no value anymore – he’s a lost cause and Chelsea won’t make any money on him,’ Leboeuf told BoyleSports, who offer the latest Euro 2024 betting.

‘He is so raw and he’s not getting better under many managers – there’s no improvement.

‘Who would want to buy Mudryk? I wouldn’t even buy him for ten million at the moment. In fact, I wouldn’t even buy him for £1m. Why would you want to spend money on a player who is not in any way productive.

‘He’s been here 18 months and I know it’s been difficult for him given his circumstances at home in Ukraine, but judging from what I’ve seen, I really worry that Chelsea have signed a dud in Mudryk and they must replace him.

‘I was bought for £2m in 1996 and I thought that was a lot! Mudryk was bought for £70m or something – it’s insane!’

Mudryk’s struggles continued at Euro 2024 where he failed to score or assist as Ukraine suffered a group-stage exit.

Speaking after one of Ukraine’s group matches, ex-England goalkeeper Joe Hart said he has heard Mudryk remains confident of turning his Stamford Bridge career around.

‘There is a huge talent in him,’ Hart said. ‘I’ve played against him when he was high on confidence when he was at Shakhtar and they were a pretty average team being honest.

‘We played well against them but he was such a threat the whole game. He smashed two past me over two legs and I was really excited when he signed in the Premier League I was like ‘watch this guy.’

Hart added: ‘Look, he’s still young. Chelsea’s a bit of a difficult club to shine at the moment.

‘But when they do find their feet and if he’s one of the wingers when they do find their feet who are stars in that team, which they will, I’m excited to see what he can do.’

Asked if Mudryk had joined the wrong club, Hart said: ‘Who knows? It’s not gone well for anyone apart from Cole Palmer. That’s just being brutally honest.

‘They are trying to build a foundation. He’s a young player, he signed a big long contract, from everything I’ve heard about him he’s someone who wants to improve, wants to work hard, always out doing shooting.

‘Look, the talent is in him. It’s just whether they can get it out of him in the Premier League.’

Mudryk will be playing under a new Chelsea manager next season after ex-Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca was appointed to replace Mauricio Pochettino.

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