Chelsea have three months to resolve situation before 'fantastic' star causes costly chaos

Enzo Maresca has just three months to determine whether Mykhaylo Mudryk has a future at Chelsea, despite the writing already appearing to be on the wall for the forward.

The Blues bounced back to winning ways against Bournemouth on Sunday, with Christopher Nkunku coming off of the bench to fire his side to victory, linking up with fellow substitute Jadon Sancho to create the goal.

Maresca brought on several attacking players late on in an attempt to grab all three points, with Joao Felix also entering the fray. However, Mudryk remained an unused substitute in a telling sign of where he sits in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca has not shied away from speaking openly about how the Ukraine international must develop further, though the influx of Chelsea attackers is making it tricky to see where those opportunities will come from.

Mudryk has featured regularly in the UEFA Conference League but struggled on those occasions as well, and if the Blues are to bid to win the trophy then they may not be able to persist with the forward in more competitive fixtures.

The higher powers at Chelsea must also consider how Mudryk’s price tag is plummeting on a weekly basis and they may be forced to make a decision on whether to cut their losses on the winger ahead of the January transfer window.

The Blues are set to welcome the arrival of Brazilian prospect Estevao to their ranks next summer, and his arrival will likely see Mudryk struggle further for minutes if he does not improve markedly, which will impact his valuation as well.

Maresca was asked about the arrival of Estevao, 17, over the weekend, to which he said: “We are following him. He is doing fantastic but unfortunately, he is doing fantastic there and not with us. We are going to wait until next summer when he will arrive here but for sure we are very happy in the way he is doing these things.”