Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has had words of praise for Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk.

The attacker did not enjoy the best of times when he first arrived at the Stamford Bridge club.

Mudryk struggled to adapt to the Premier League after signing in January in a big money deal.

Asked about Mudryk and youngster Levi Colwill, Pochettino told reporters: “I have spoken with all of the players a lot, Mudryk also because he was in Barcelona for a few days, we exchanged messages.

“We were talking the last few days. I found a really good kid, still really young with amazing potential. The most important thing is what we need to earn from them is the trust and confidence in us. We are early in the relationship at the moment. They need to know us, the way that we act. We have many chat and I am so happy with that.

“With Levi also, we were talking, a really nice chat. Of course, always it is private. It is important: they need to know us, what we think, they need to see that the competition is going to be tough but they can challenge for that and can have the possibility if they deserve to be in the starting XI.

“They understood our word and we understood what they meant to us and it is clear and we are so happy. Tomorrow we start the competition, start to compete and they need to speak there on the pitch."