Mauricio Pochettino makes feelings clear about £89m signing amid goalscoring crisis

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has called for patience with forward Mykhailo Mudryk following his poor form against West Ham United.

The Ukranian has failed to impress since joining from Shakhtar Donetsk for a reported £87m fee in January and has been introduced from the bench in Pochettino’s first two games of the campaign.

He wildly miss-hit a Raheem Sterling pass when Chelsea were chasing the game against a 10-player West Ham United over the weekend, but manager Mauricio Pochettino says he’s got the ability to turn things around.

He told reporters: “He’s a young player and a player that has a lot of talent.

“I think he needs to build his continuity and trust [with his team-mates], work hard in the training sessions during the week and continue to show he is ready to perform.”

Chelsea have a growing number of injured players, the third team with the highest number of first-team players out injured including captain Reece James and striker Christopher Nkunku.

That also means Mykhailo Mudryk has a chance of starting against newly promoted Luton Town on Friday night in the Premier League, something the manager admits he needs if he’s to build his confidence.

“We need to also build that trust with him and he needs to build it with us as part of the team, as is the same with many of our younger players,” Pochettino added.

“It will take a little time but there is no doubting he has enormous talent and quality and it’s only a matter of time before he settles into the team on a regular basis.”

Chelsea are likely to bolster their squad with a striker and goalkeeper expected to arrive before transfer deadline days.