LONDON, England (Reuters) – Chelsea’s big-money signing Mykhailo Mudryk could make his debut at Liverpool on Saturday but coach Graham Potter has warned expectant supporters that the new arrival needs time to adapt.
Ukraine winger Mudryk, 22, became Chelsea’s fifth signing of the January transfer window on Sunday after moving from Shakhtar Donetsk to the west London side who are struggling for form after winning two of their previous 10 Premier League games.
Potter welcomed the addition of such a talented player but warned supporters not to expect too much, too soon.
“He is a young and exciting player, we have to help him adapt to us and the Premier League. He hasn’t played so much football recently but has been training well, so we will have to assess him,” Potter told a news conference on Friday.
“There’s a chance (he could make his debut at Anfield). There is probably a role for him at some stage in the game. We’ve got to help him and everybody understand that he is coming from a different country and league and has to adapt.
“He is a young player who has a lot of potential and at the same time he has had good experiences already and he is an exciting player. He is looking forward to his career here and is excited to get started.”
Chelsea have spent more than any other club in Europe across the last two transfer windows, making their league position of 10th all the more disappointing for supporters.
British media reports have suggested the club have not finished doing business in the January window, but Potter is happy with the players he already has at his disposal.
“I don’t think there’ll be too many (more signings) to be honest. I’ve no complaints about the squad,” Potter added. “January is very complex. You might want A, B and C but they are not available in terms of positional need.
“You are always looking to strengthen your squad and we have done that. When players come back we have an exciting squad of players. You’ve got to analyse the squad and analyse where it’s at.
“Sometimes it is adding and sometimes it’s moving out players. That is on a case-by-case basis and we’ll look at it as and when.”
Potter also said full-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell were back in training but will not be fit to feature at Anfield.
(Reporting by Peter Hall; Editing by Ken Ferris)
