Mudryk mystery deepens as failed drugs test threatens to ruin career

People who come across Mykhailo Mudryk often sense a distance. Intentionally or not, mystery attaches itself to the shy young man who caused such excitement when he turned up at Stamford Bridge in January 2023. None of the winger’s managers at Chelsea have been able to crack the code and the sense is that Mudryk’s guard will go higher after the Football Association provisionally suspended him after a positive drug test.

This is a story without winners. A career that promised so much is in danger of falling apart, and one of the saddest aspects of Mudryk’s plight is that his absence is unlikely to derail Chelsea’s burgeoning title challenge. Enzo Maresca will be able to cope perfectly well without the 23‑year‑old. Chelsea’s head coach is not short of options in attack. Mudryk, who has never looked settled since moving to England, is a mere afterthought these days.

It was not as if Chelsea missed the former Shakhtar Donetsk player when they beat Brentford last Sunday. Mudryk, signed for an overall package of £89m, has not started a league game since being taken off at half-time during a 6-2 win against Wolves in August. The sad truth is he has been a huge disappointment. Although he has raw talent, Mudryk has rarely displayed much game intelligence and has often left his coaches exasperated. “We want the best for Misha,” Maresca said in October. “He’s one of the guys that the learning process is more slow compared to the rest.”

There has been the odd flash of quality: a wonderful dancing solo goal against Newcastle last season; an instinctive finish against Nottingham Forest in May; a stunning hit against Noah in the Europa Conference League last month. At times, though, Mudryk has been more likely to hit the corner flag than the top corner. Having blistering speed is one thing, knowing what to do with it quite another. Mudryk, who is erratic and immature, cannot complain about Chelsea’s other wingers speeding past him.

Yet it was not supposed to be this way. The mood was triumphant when Chelsea, backed by the billions of Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly, beat Arsenal to the signing of Mudryk. Behdad Eghbali, Clearlake’s co-founder, was prominent in negotiations with Shakhtar – he jetted to the Ukrainian side’s training camp in Turkey to seal the deal – and there was plenty of fanfare when Mudryk, wearing white jeans, draped in his country’s flag and looking more than a little startled, was unveiled before Chelsea earned a sluggish home win against Crystal Palace.

It had all happened in a blur. Mudryk had looked set for Arsenal, where he would have teamed up with his fellow Ukrainian Oleksandr Zinchenko, but instead he was off to a club at the start of a painful transition. Transported to a strange new country, away from his family and friends, Mudryk struggled. He spoke little English and was reluctant to come out of his shell. A return of five goals and four assists in 53 league appearances says a lot. Nobody can argue that Mudryk has provided Chelsea with value for money.

Mykhailo Mudryk has only contributed five goals and four assists in 53 Premier League appearances. Photograph: Tony Obrien/Reuters

In hindsight he was in the wrong environment. It should not be forgotten that Mudryk is a young man whose country remains at war with Russia. Living with that knowledge is unspeakably hard. Yet Mudryk had an expensive price tag and expectations were high. Chelsea had seen the potential. Mudryk had starred for Shakhtar in a Champions League tie against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu. It seemed he was destined for greatness.

Yet his form never took off. Chelsea sacked Graham Potter, brought in Frank Lampard as interim head coach, and hired Mauricio Pochettino in the summer of 2023. They found themselves having to react when Mudryk’s inexperience got him into a few silly off-pitch incidents. Pochettino seemed baffled. At one point he tried to build Mudryk’s confidence by challenging him to a crossbar challenge in training.

Nothing seemed to have a lasting effect, though, and now Mudryk must deal with the consequences of the banned substance, reportedly meldonium, being found in his system. He has been absent for five games – Maresca has claimed the player was ill – and is at risk of a lengthy ban. Much will hinge on whether Mudryk’s “B” sample backs up the initial findings.

He has protested his innocence, insisting he has changed nothing in his routine since a clean test in August, and will fight to clear his name. There have even been suggestions that he has been the victim of sabotage. Mudryk’s representatives and the FA have not commented.

Chelsea are supporting their player. Mudryk has seven years left on his contract but nobody knows when he will set foot on a pitch again. The mystery deepens. Those who are not in Mudryk’s inner circle never really get close to him. Associates who meet him describe him as guarded, a man of few words, with little to say about football. One source recalls a meeting with Mudryk livening up only when the conversation turned to table tennis.

It seemed that was his true passion and it turned out he was a demon when he had a bat in his hand. After the latest revelations, though, Mudryk may have a lot of time to work on his ping-pong skills.