Gym bunny Mykhailo Mudryk finally has a spring in his step at Chelsea with his tireless work on strength and speed proving he is determined to make a success of his whirlwind move

• Chelsea forward Mykhailo Mudryk is keen to prove himself at the club this year
• Sources have been left shocked by his commitment to constant work in the gym 
• Mail Sport’s new WhatsApp Channel: Get the breaking news and exclusives here 

If there is one player whose determination to prove himself at Chelsea cannot be questioned it is Mykhailo Mudryk.

Behind the scenes, the Ukraine winger is putting in so much work that some of his team-mates say they have never seen anything like it.

‘He is trying so hard, it is like he is in the gym every hour of the day,’ said one source.

Those who have followed Mudryk’s career describe the gym as ‘his favourite pastime,’ following in the footsteps of one of his idols, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Outside of his Chelsea sessions, Mudryk has been working with personal trainer Dima Chapovskyi on strength and speed work, including his ability to reach top gear from a standing start, in an effort to make him as quick as possible.

Mykhailo Mudryk’s determination to prove himself at Chelsea cannot be questioned

Behind the scenes, his sheer hard work off the pitch has left several sources shocked

There have been concerns voiced that the 22-year-old dedicates too much time to that side of his development and needs to have some boundaries set. Chelsea have attempted to do that.

But the effort points to Mudryk’s determination to make a success of his whirlwind January move to Chelsea, which has not always gone smoothly since he arrived from Shakhtar Donetsk for an initial £62million that could rise to £88.5m.

His efforts are beginning to be rewarded, at least in terms of game time. If he starts at Fulham tonight it will be the first time he has started four successive Chelsea matches.

He is still waiting for a competitive goal but has shown flashes of promise in recent weeks and received a morale-boosting standing ovation when he was taken off against Brighton last Wednesday.

The last time Mudryk came up against Fulham was for his full debut in February. It lasted just 45 minutes. That early substitution was put down to illness by then-manager Graham Potter.

But it was a sign of things to come in what has been a largely underwhelming start to his life at Stamford Bridge.

His efforts are beginning to be rewarded, particularly in increased game time this season

A number of reasons are cited as to why he has yet to truly get going. Mudryk had been set on a move to Arsenal before a late change of events saw him up at Stamford Bridge.

Shakhtar Donetsk’s unhappiness with Arsenal’s approach to negotiations left the door open for Chelsea, who then blew the Gunners out of the water with their offer to hijack the deal.

A Blues delegation travelled to Shakhtar’s training camp in Turkey and returned to England on a private jet with Mudryk to finalise his move just a day later.

Adjusting to that sudden turn of events affected Mudryk. So too has the instability at Chelsea, where he is now working under his fourth manager. The price-tag has also weighed heavily.

Mudryk is said to only have a small group with him in England. A limited grasp of the language has hampered his ability to build relationships with team-mates and he has been trying to adjust while his homeland, where some of his family remain, has been under siege from Russia.

Sources pointed to the massive toll the war in Ukraine has had on his far more experienced and settled countryman, Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko, to give a sense of the effect it would be having on the younger man. 

Mudryk is described as polite but quiet, introverted and a confidence player, as seen in his previous reluctance to take on Mauricio Pochettino at the crossbar challenge because the head coach tended to win.

Mauricio Pochettino described the forward as ‘unique’ and there are no doubts over his quality

A senior Ukraine international with 13 caps, he volunteered to play in the Under 21 Euros during the summer in a bid to find some form and then caught the eye during Chelsea’s pre-season tour in the States, scoring in a friendly against Brighton, which initially put a spring in his step.

But when he returned to England it was noted around the club that his confidence had dipped again.

Mudryk has been hailed as a potential Ballon d’Or winner by Roberto De Zerbi, the Brighton manager who coached him at Shakhtar.

The Ukrainian club’s director of football Darijo Srna described Mudryk as one of the three best players in his position in the world, only behind Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior.

Such praise came despite Mudryk making just 65 first-team appearances, often as a sub, before joining Chelsea and being far from the finished product.

Ukrainian sports journalist Andrew Todos, said: ‘He is 22 but he is the level of a 19-year-old based on how much senior football he has played.’

He is far from the finished product but there remains a belief he will come good at the club

But there are no doubts about his quality and potential at Chelsea, where there is a belief he will come good.

Pochettino said: ‘The most difficult thing is to go in with this guy to understand what they need to settle, to feel comfortable and express their talent.’

He explained ‘you need to go with him very slowly’ in part due to cultural differences between Mudryk, Pochettino and others at Chelsea.

‘He is now trying to be more open and to adapt and be more involved in every single situation, not only on the field, outside of the field too,’ said Pochettino.

‘He is making a massive effort to try to integrate himself and understand better what it means to play like a team, but he is young and for sure he is going to improve. We are so happy in how he is improving.’

Pochettino likes to make comparisons for context but added on Mudryk: ‘I cannot find one player to say he is similar. He is quite unique. It is a good challenge for him first of all and then it is a good challenge for us.’

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