Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk has the backing of former manager and current Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi to make an impact after his doping ban was lifted
Roberto de Zerbi had some kind words for Mykhailo Mudryk after it was confirmed the Chelsea star is illegible to play football again
Roberto de Zerbi had some kind words for Mykhailo Mudryk after it was confirmed the Chelsea star is illegible to play football again (Image: (Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images))
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Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi has praised Mykhailo Mudryk's character and is hopeful he can show his qualities after the Chelsea man's doping ban was lifted.
The Blues outcast has not played a competitive game for just under two years, but the FA confirmed in a statement on Friday that he is now free to return to action.
Mudryk himself, Xabi Alonso and several team-mates have responded to the announcement. And De Zerbi, who managed the Ukraine international at Shakhtar Donetsk, is the latest footballing figure to make an admission with it clear he is full of admiration.
When asked about Mudryk, the Spurs manager said: “He’s my son, he’s a cool guy, a top player, hopefully he can show what he suffered the last two seasons in this coming season, maybe not against Tottenham, but he’s a lovely guy.”
De Zerbi also revealed he spoke to Mudryk throughout the period he was unavailable, while also admitting his close relationship to two other Chelsea stars.
He added: "All time, my former player, I talk a lot of time. Behind this room there is Kevin-Prince Boateng, my former player in Sassuolo, he played in Tottenham and he is like another son, because the relationship can't finish after you leave from a team, or with Levi Colwill or with Joao Pedro.
"All people, I have to say thank you for what they gave me and for Misha the same, especially for Misha, because I left from there for the war, for the war reason. And I left that team, that club, not for football and it was an amazing team, amazing group, maybe the best level of football I've done."
Despite having a far less personal relationship with Mudryk, Alonso had some kind words and also confirmed what they immediate plan will be upon their return to Cobham.
Speakingabout Mudryk ahead of Chelsea's 2-1 friendly defeat to Tottenham, the Spaniard said: "We are happy for him, especially for him. Probably, we are not able to understand what he has been through in this time and how does he feel at the moment with the things that he had to cope with.
"We want that he feels part of a team, because he has been training on his own for a long time, and that we have the support from everyone, from the club, from the team-mates, from the staff, and for sure it will take time. So once he is with us, we will see how things develop."
Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso has spoken about Mykhailo Mudryk
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When asked specifically about his future, the Chelsea boss added: "We need to see, it's too early to tell, to see how he is in terms of fitness, in terms of this game time that you need to be involved again, so it's still early to tell."
Having only just discovered he is free to play again, Mudryk was not in Australia for the club's pre-season tour of Australia, which ended with a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday.
It was arguably Alonso's first real test of pre-season but it did not quite go to plan with a heavily-rotated team losing the second-half to 10-man Tottenham.
The club will be in Hong-Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia before returning to England where Mudryk will likely link back up and partake in elements of team training for the first time since November 2024.
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