Paul Merson believes Mykhailo Mudryk has ‘shown nothing’ since his €100 million (£88.5m) move to Chelsea in January.
Chelsea fended off strong competition from Arsenal to sign Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in the January transfer window.
The 22-year-old made an impressive cameo during his debut for Chelsea in the goalless draw with Liverpool but the Ukraine international is yet to register a goal or an assist in five appearances.
And Merson believes for the price Chelsea paid, Mudryk should be hitting the ground running at Stamford Bridge.
‘People think [Graham] Potter isn’t the right man for the job, but I think he is. For me, I think give him time,’ Merson told Sky Sports.
‘I don’t see it changing too quickly. I look at the players and I don’t get it.
‘This Sunday is Chelsea’s biggest game of the season – it’s Tottenham. If he loses this one I’m not sure there is a way back because the fans will go ballistic.
‘This game can change everything though – if Chelsea beat Spurs he can also be a hero.
‘I like him as a manager but I look at the quality of the players and I question it.
‘They brought Mykhailo Mudryk for £88m and, bar a cameo of 20 minutes, he’s shown nothing. I mean nothing.
‘You wouldn’t expect to need time to settle in at that price.
‘The forward-thinking players are no better than the ones they’ve already got so what’s the point? You can’t tell me that Noni Madueke is a better player than Raheem Sterling or Christian Pulisic. He’s not.
‘Why are you buying a load of players that aren’t better than what you’ve got? None of them improve the team bar Enzo Fernandez and the centre-half [Benoit Badiashile].’
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