Former Prem winger tells ‘scary’ Mudryk to ‘trust your strength’ and rely on major asset

Former Premier League winger Theo Walcott has told Chelsea winger Mykhaylo Mudryk to “trust your strength” which is “all pace” as he’s “scary” when doing so.

Mudryk’s start to life at Stamford Bridge didn’t go the way most had expected. The winger had been directly involved in 13 league goals for Shakhtar Donetsk in 12 games last season.

He also scored three times and assisted twice in six Champions League games, pacing the way for his £88.5million move to Chelsea in January. However, in his first half a season with the Blues, he failed to score and assisted just twice.

He’s clearly not been able to transfer his impact to the Premier League yet, but former top-flight winger Walcott feels he needs to trust his pace, as he’s a genuine threat when using it.

“I would say actually with Mudryk, I faced him last year and he faced me up and he’s scary, he’s very quick, I think he’s just got to rely on that,” he said on Sky Sports.

“Don’t be afraid to keep going. I feel like as wingers, when you have the atmosphere, it can be a tight pitch, it’s going to be condensed for him, but you’ve got to trust your strength and his strength is all pace, use it.”

Walcott is well knows as one of the quickest players to ever grace the Premier League, so he clearly knows what he’s talking about, and his advice could help to unlock Mudryk’s potential.

Pace is the same whatever league you’re playing in, and if the Chelsea man is able to rely on his speed to get past players, he’ll be dangerous no matter who he’s playing against.

Mudryk has hardly played so far this season, as he’s still finding his feet in England, but if he can begin to play how he did for Shakhtar, both he and his side will be better for it, and he’ll be given more opportunities to hurt defences.

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