Roberto De Zerbi has shared his experience of working with Mykhailo Mudryk at Shakhtar Donetsk and what separates Tottenham’s new signing from others.
Spurs’ deadline day loan signing of Mudryk with a £75m option to buy has left many across the media puzzled.
Many have questioned the logic of signing a winger who has not been in competitive action for nearly two years due to a doping ban.
However, the Tottenham boss is optimistic that everything could come together for the winger to showcase his potential at N17 this season.
Roberto De Zerbi makes big claim about what Mykhailo Mudryk could do at Tottenham
The Tottenham boss admitted that the Ukrainian was very young and raw when he broke into his Shakhtar side, and hinted that the move to Chelsea may have come too soon for him.
Now that he has more experience under his belt and is more mature, De Zerbi suggested that Spurs could be the perfect platform for the winger to showcase his qualities.
The Tottenham boss said about the 25-year-old to Football.London: “I brought him from the Under-21s, I put him in the first-team. I gave him the chance to play against Real Madrid in the first XI in the Bernabéu. He was very, very young. 20-years-old. He played well. It was the first season for him in the first team. He played very well, [sometimes] he played not so well, but it was a way to do it.
“And then from Shakhtar to Chelsea, I think he paid a big price because different leagues, different countries, a different level of the club, with a big, big responsibility because he knew the price Chelsea paid for him. But it’s a normal process for a potential top player. Now I think he’s 25, he’s at the right moment of his career in a top club. I think it’s the right moment for him to show what he can do.”
De Zerbi says Mudryk has one quality not many other players have
The 46-year-old admitted that the new Tottenham signing’s best qualities are his mentality and his willingness to work extremely hard on his game.
De Zerbi suggested that Mudryk has not done justice to his talent so far and challenged the winger to show his qualities on the pitch for his side this season.
When asked if the Chelsea loanee has extra hunger after not being able to play for two years, the Italian said: “I hope it can be the key for him, but Mudryk, he loves football. He lives for football. I have not seen many players like him with the mentality, as a belief, in the work during the week in training. He works double compared to other team-mates.
“Maybe during the game he has to be focused on the ball, on the play, and he has to ask himself something more because his qualities are more than he showed until now. I know him as a guy, as a player. I think it is very important about the motivation and then we will see during the season if he respects his talent and what he is able to do.”