Mauricio Pochettino has claimed that Mykhaylo Mudryk has always required time to settle into life at Chelsea after starting to show his best form in recent matches.
Since joining from Shakhtar Donetsk in January, Mudryk has failed to justify his £89m price tag, contributing just two assists from 23 appearances in all competitions.
However, since the September international break, the Ukraine international has started to make a sustained impact, and he got his reward with a first Blues goal against Fulham on Monday night.
A Levi Colwill cross found the perfectly-timed run of the 22-year-old who controlled the ball on his chest before converting a smart finish past Bernd Leno in the Cottagers goal.
Moments later, Armando Broja - on his first Chelsea start since November last year - diverted the ball into the net after a poor attempt at an intervention from Tim Ream, and the visitors ultimately saw out a 2-0 victory against their neighbours.
Mudryk's evening was cut short as he was withdrawn at half time, Pochettino indicating that the attacker was suffering with a minor thigh injury.
© Reuters
Nevertheless, the Argentine was full of praise for the left winger, who he has suggested has started to mature into his role in the squad after an indifferent nine months.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference, as quoted by football.london, Pochettino said: "It's about maturity, adaptation, massive change for him here. It's not easy to settle, too many young players is not solid and not the cherry of the cake and they need to add something to the team.
"It's about time and the trust of these guys and building confidence. Step by step. For us, it's about patience, we were calm and being positive and we have won two games in a few days. It's important for us to keep calm and keep improving and to build the belief.
"We are talking and we are working. That is the credit of all the coaching staff. Jesus [Perez], the people we find here, all of the staff, we have very good relationship and we decide for every player the possibility to improve."
Chelsea now sit in 11th position in the Premier League standings ahead of a trip to Turf Moor to face Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
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