Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk has a new nickname. This time it’s based on the name of legendary Jamaican sprinter and Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt. It’s Ukraine Bolt- a name which has driven football fans insane.
The skillful and pacy winger started his career from the Metalist Kharkiv and Dnipro and then joined Shakhtar Donetsk in 2016. He made his debut in 2018 and then was loaned to Arsenal Kyiv and Desna Chernihiv.
In 2023 English Premier League club Chelsea beat Arsenal and signed Mudryk for £88.5 million that made him the most expensive Ukrainian footballer ever and also the most expensive signing from the Ukrainian Premier League.
He came through many youth levels before making his senior national team debut on June 1, 2022 against Scotland in the semi-final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff.
Since his arrival in the English Premier League, Mudryk has been the subject of many discussions.
A man of many names
The Ukrainian wonderkid has had some interesting names. His wing play dribbling ability earned him the nickname “Ukrainian Neymar”. Then the fans gave Mudryk a slander name and called him “The Ghost of Kyiv”, probably pointing towards the Ukrainian pilot who shot down 6 Russian fighter planes when the two countries were at war in 2022.
His latest alias has turned up in the form of “Ukraine Bolt”, inspired by legendary Olympian Usain Bolt. The term was anointed by a Twitter user during Chelsea’s fixture against Liverpool on Sunday.
Is Mudryk worth the hype?
However, it is quite obvious that Mudryk has not quite lived up to his true potential that made Chelsea sign him. The 22 year old winger currently wears the number 10 shirt at Chelsea. Football fans have seen players go from overhyped to flop in the past. Or is he overrated?
Mudryk has only scored once in a Chelsea shirt and that too in a pre-season friendly against Brighton. It is easy to get lost in the hype. Sometimes fans get obsessed with a player’s nickname more than the actual player himself. Only time will tell if Mudryk is the Ukrainian Neymar or Ukraine Bolt himself.