De Zerbi Stands Firm on Mudryk's Ballon d'Or Potential
Roberto De Zerbi is not backing away. Not from his words, not from his belief, and certainly not from Mykhailo Mudryk.
Months after many had quietly filed away his Ballon d'Or prediction as a romantic exaggeration, the Italian has repeated it. With Mudryk now in his dressing room at Tottenham, the coach has chosen to stand in the same corner as his winger, just when the rest of Europe has started to look the other way.
A reunion with high stakes
Mudryk’s move to Spurs on deadline day was one of the window’s most intriguing late twists. A season-long loan from Chelsea, an option to buy for £75 million next summer, and a player whose reputation has swung from "next big thing" to "expensive gamble" in less than two years.
For Tottenham, it is a calculated risk. For Mudryk, it is something else entirely: a return to the coach who first unlocked him.
They know each other well. At Shakhtar Donetsk, under De Zerbi, Mudryk exploded into the European consciousness, a fearless winger tearing down flanks and tearing up scouting reports. That spell convinced Chelsea to commit around €100m in January 2023, a fee that weighed heavily as his form stalled in London.
De Zerbi, though, has never forgotten the player he saw up close.
"We spent a very particular season together in Shakhtar," he said, speaking to ESPN. "When the war started, we were together. And when I spoke about the Ballon d'Or, I was very clear. Maybe my English is not so good, but I was very clear because I was speaking about the potential of the player."
The word he keeps coming back to is "potential". For De Zerbi, that part has not changed.
"The potential of the player can be the same and can respect the prediction or not," he added. The ability is there; the question is whether the career can catch up.
From €100m burden to fresh start
Mudryk’s Chelsea spell has been brutal in its scrutiny and underwhelming in its return. The numbers have not matched the price tag, the performances have lacked rhythm, and the narrative quickly turned from "record signing" to "problem to solve".
De Zerbi did not gloss over that reality.
"Until now, he has had many problems," he admitted. One of those, he pointed out, was the suspension that kept Mudryk away from elite football for an extended period. "The last problem, the suspension for whatever was the problem, but the [outcome] is clear. And now his challenge is to respect all his qualities because he's a great player."
This is the crux of the season for Mudryk. Less about hype, more about honesty. Less about the fee, more about the football.
"He has to leave this season in a right way, not too [much] pressure," De Zerbi said. It was a telling line. Spurs will want impact, but his coach is clearly determined not to bury him under expectation before he has even found his legs again.
Still, the reminder of Chelsea’s original conviction lingers.
"It is the right moment for him to show [his ability] because if Chelsea paid €100m four years ago. I think they brought a lot of big, big players and to spend €100m, I think they thought very well about the qualities of Mudryk."
That fee hangs over him, but it also underlines why Tottenham’s option to buy at £75m could look like a bargain if De Zerbi is right and the winger finally ignites.
Short bursts before the full sprint
First, he has to play. Really play. Not cameos after long absences, not stop-start runs of games broken by setbacks. Just football, week after week.
Mudryk’s lack of recent action means De Zerbi is not yet ready to throw him straight into the Premier League’s starting glare. Match fitness is a problem that cannot be solved in a press conference.
Even so, Spurs fans will not have to wait long to see him in their colours. De Zerbi has already mapped out the first steps.
Mudryk, he confirmed, is ready for a 15 to 30-minute outing in Saturday’s clash with Nottingham Forest. A controlled reintroduction, a glimpse rather than a full unveiling.
From there, everything depends on what follows: the sharpness, the confidence, the runs in behind that once made him look unstoppable at Shakhtar. If the old electricity returns under the old mentor, Tottenham’s £75m clause will loom large over the summer.
For now, the equation is simple. A coach standing by his prediction. A player trying to prove the football world wrong. And a season that might decide whether the word "Ballon d'Or" ever sits comfortably next to Mykhailo Mudryk’s name again.
