“The guy is not ready yet” – Frank Leboeuf explains why Chelsea star should not be in starting XI

Former French defender Frank Leboeuf has urged Chelsea fans to be patient with winger Mykhaylo Mudryk amid a scarcity of minutes under Graham Potter.

The Ukrainian winger was one of the Blues' big-money acquisitions during the January transfer window. He was expected to play a key role for Chelsea from the get-go.

The Blues splashed a whopping transfer fee in the region of £88.5 million from Shakhtar Donetsk, snapping his signature under the noses of rivals Arsenal.

Mudryk's heavy price tag almost immediately came with huge exceptions on his shoulders at Stamford Bridge. Despite a flashy debut against Liverpool in January, very little has been seen of the Ukrainian since then.

In fact, he only started one of Chelsea's last four games before the intentional break. He was even an unused substitute for Potter during the Blues' last league outing against Everton.

Meanwhile, pundit Leboeuf has urged supporters of the west London club to exercise patience with the club's handling of Mudryk's game time this season.

He was of the opinion that the winger needs enough time to be eased into the starting XI of the Blues. He said:

“I think it’s a very good idea to leave Mudryk out right now at least. It’s only fair for him to be protected by the coach, by us, by the media, and by the pundits. The fans should understand that the guy is going through hell right now being Ukrainian, seeing his family being in a war in his country."

He continued:

"He [Mudryk] is very young, it’s a big change for him, big money spent on him – the guy has too much pressure, and you have to make sure he is going to adjust and adapt to a new situation in the best way. We can all be impatient, we live in a world of impatience and we want to see the best of Mudryk, we want to see what he did in his first game for us. But right now we have to be a bit patient.”

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Frank Leboeuf reveals that Mykhaylo Mudryk isn't yet ready to start games for Chelsea

The former France international stated that the Ukrainian winger isn't quite at the required level to play regular minutes for Chelsea.

He said:

“Putting him [Mudryk] on the field right now because he is worth £88m and because he has to give back in a way, the money that the club put down on him would be unfair and would be a little bit silly. The guy is not ready yet."

Mudryk has provided just one assist in seven appearances for Chelsea.