by Sir Alex Ferguson once told Harry Redknapp that he should stop playing Gareth Bale. Redknapp may have had some misdirection in the statement which was ignored, but the Welshman had a 24 game unbeaten streak at the start of his Tottenham Hotspur career which earned him the reputation of being unlucky.
Mauricio Pochettino was never lucky enough to coach Bale at Spurs, but he will know how the player went from zero to hero at his former club, and why he was proved right Redknapp then gave Fergie a swerve.
Redknapp said: “Sir Alex Ferguson said to me, ‘I don’t play Harry, he’s unlucky’. I said, ‘I think he’s going to be a great player’. I hear rumors that I was going to send him on loan – I was never in a million years going to send Gareth Bale on loan.”
Ferguson was one of the managers queuing to sign Bale before he moved from Southampton to Tottenham in a deal worth up to £10million in 2007 and there was always the feeling that his talents were too well judged. to see them all. wrong during that difficult start to life in London.
Which brings us to Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk, the forward backed by former manager Roberto De Zerbi to win the Ballon d’Or, a player whose goalscoring Brentford scouts are among the most talented they have ever followed and the man was Mikel Arteta desperate to sign. for Arsenal last January.
Clubs make mistakes all the time and players fail to reach their potential for a myriad of reasons, but could De Zerbi, Arteta, the Brentford boffins, not to mention Chelsea, be so terrible at Mudryk? It seems as unlikely as Fergie’s claim that Bale was “unlucky”.
Bale needed time and a change of position to recharge his Spurs career and Mudryk benefited from something new on Wednesday night, just days after being beaten by team-mate Axel Disasi as Virgil van Dijk failed to stop the goal that won i. Carabao Cup final.
While Disasi was once again dreadful against Leeds United at Stamford Bridge, Mudryk enjoyed starting in the No 10 position for the first time, scoring a well-taken goal and making a point to celebrate in front of the traveling fans at court him. .
Explaining why he looked down at an imaginary watch on his wrist, Mudryk said: “Man’s clock is always in a hurry, God’s clock is always on time.”
Chelsea were certainly desperate to tell the world they had outbid Arsenal when Mudryk was signed last January, after co-owner Behdad Eghbali flew to Turkey on a private jet with sporting director Paul Winstanley to to seal the deal.
Mudryk’s name was curiously added to the club’s official Instagram bio before he officially signed, while Chelsea X’s account further worried fans by responding to Shakhtar Donetsk’s statement that the club had entered into negotiations with Eghbali eyes emoji.
The creation of a God complex around Mudryk, a player who moved from a country at war and a lower league, was childish and naive, and Chelsea hope to learn lessons from him.
More than a year into his Stamford Bridge career, Chelsea’s biggest dilemma now is how Mudryk will find enough playing time and patience to properly rebuild his confidence and begin to learn the type of tactical discipline required , along with his speed and talent, to hold his own down. starting point.
At 23 years old, there are still signs of immaturity in Mudryk’s character, as well as his game, which was highlighted when he challenged a critic on social media to a one-on-one match earlier this season.
In his 44 appearances to date for Chelsea, Mudryk has completed 90 minutes just twice and despite Pochettino’s need for a regular goalscorer, there is plenty of congestion in the club’s attacking areas.
Since Mudryk arrived in an £88 million deal, Chelsea have signed Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer, Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson, while Raheem Sterling, Conor Gallagher and Carney Chukwuemeka were already at the club.
That’s eight players who can play either side or, apart from Jackson, as a No.10, and there is no guarantee that Mudryk’s goal against Leeds will be enough to earn him a starting place against Brentford on Saturday.
But just as Redknapp claims he knew he and Spurs would be in trouble if Bale was released for money, Chelsea have a feeling they could have an egg on their side. face if Mudryk is let go. in other places, even temporarily, to develop.
There is still no long-standing evidence that Mudryk can enjoy a renaissance of Bale’s proportions, but Chelsea might do well to remember how Redknapp was rewarded for ignoring Fergie.
