The outlook is bleak for Chelsea winger Mykhaylo Mudryk as Enzo Maresca has explained why the Ukrainian has been used so sparingly this season.
Jadon Sancho arrived on loan from Manchester United to provide new competition on the left, where fellow summer arrival Pedro Neto has started the last two Premier League games.
Addressing the wealth of attacking talent at his disposal during a press conference on Friday, Maresca has revealed that he sees Sancho and Mudryk as his two main options on the left, Noni Madueke and Neto on the right, Cole Palmer and Joao Felix in behind the striker, and Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku up top.
The Blues boss was then asked to clarify why Neto, who he views principally as a right-winger, has played ahead of Mudryk on the left in recent weeks. "Pedro Neto was playing left-wing because Jadon wasn't here or wasn't ready," he said. "And I preferred Pedro over Misha for that game."
Sancho has now had three weeks to bed in at Cobham, while his razor-sharp debut against Bournemouth last weekend showed that he is 'ready'. Maresca's comments therefore suggest that the loanee is strongly in contention to start against West Ham on Saturday.
And the fact Neto was selected over Mudryk despite being a right-winger hints that the Ukrainian could be as low as third in Maresca's pecking order.
Chelsea splashed a whopping £88.5million to sign Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk in January last year, following less than two seasons of regular football in his homeland. The 23-year-old has scored seven goals in 62 games since, and he now faces a fight to earn Maresca's trust.
Asked how he can expect Mudryk to improve without getting regular minutes, the Chelsea boss explained: "Training sessions are the only way to improve players. We try to improve them every day with some of them doing extra sessions at the end - Misha is one of them."
Chelsea are eighth in the Premier League table after making a steady start under Maresca. They were outclassed at home to reigning champions Manchester City on the opening weekend before playing scintillating football in a 6-2 demolition of Wolves.
The Hammers, who will host the Blues at the London Stadium, are looking to get Julen Lopetegui's reign properly up and running after winning only one of their first four league games.
