Steven Gerrard compares Chelsea newest superstar Mykhailo Mudryk to Arjen Robben
Mykhailo Mudryk is a ‘frightening’ addition to Chelsea’s attack according to Rio Ferdinand following the superstar’s club debut against Liverpool on Saturday.
Mudryk lit up the stalemate encounter with a 35-minute cameo off the bench from Graham Potter’s side and began to wreak havoc on Liverpool’s defence.
The Ukrainian demonstrated the prestige qualities that earned him his £88m move to Stamford Bridge, creating openings using his blistering pace and almost scoring in the 65th minute having dribbled past James Milner and Joe Gomez inside the Liverpool box before firing his shot into the side-netting.
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was quick to compare what he had initially seen of the winger against his former side to the qualities of Bayern Munich legend Arjen Robben.
‘If I was a Chelsea fan I would be extremely excited about Mudryk because that was a very strong cameo from the side and if he isn’t fit then there is more to come in that department,’ Gerrard told BT Sport.
‘He looks the real deal, some of his clips today we’re outstanding. He reminded me a bit of Arjen Robben today, the first touch he got wrong but from here his footwork and how quick he is, how he manipulates the ball I would be very excited if I was Chelsea.
Robben is recognised as one of the world’s best wingers over the past 15 years having lifted Champions League, Bundesliga, and Premier League titles amongst other achievements during spells at Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich.
Manchester United legendary defender Ferdinand analysed the individual highlights of Mudryk’s first taste of English football and insisted his signing is an ‘exciting moment for Chelsea fans’.
‘We all saw explosive pace but I also saw soft feet there and good decision-making in the final third and calmness running at speed.
‘Those qualities make it frightening for an position fullback. It’s an exciting moment for Chelsea fans and I’m sure there will be Arsenal fans thinking why did we not get him.
Former Chelsea star Joe Cole heaped similar praise on the 22-year-old and explained Mudryk’s impact from the bench ‘threatened’ the hosts’ defence and insisted the Ukrainian will add the required goals Chelsea need alongside Joao Felix.
‘What he did today was threaten Liverpool. When you can do things like this in the final third, you can turn away from someone and is also a goal threat, alongside Joao Felix Chelsea have two fresh players to come in.
‘If you have a player like that in your ranks it lifts the crowd. He had a 35-minute cameo and it really excited me.
