Roberto De Zerbi's Bold Bet on Mykhailo Mudryk

Roberto De Zerbi is not backing down. Not on Mykhailo Mudryk, and certainly not on that Ballon d'Or prediction.

Months after many had quietly filed that claim under "wild optimism," the Italian coach has doubled down. Now, the two are back together at Tottenham, and the stakes feel very different.

De Zerbi’s Ballon d’Or bet lives on

Mudryk arrived at Spurs on deadline day, crossing London on a season-long loan from Chelsea. Tottenham have an option to buy him next summer for £75 million if the move works. That is a huge number for a player whose Premier League career has stuttered more than soared.

For De Zerbi, though, the fee is just a reminder of what he thinks Mudryk can still become.

He first nailed his colours to the mast during his Brighton days, shortly before Mudryk’s big-money switch to Chelsea. Back then, the winger was the electric, fearless talent lighting up Shakhtar Donetsk. De Zerbi had him in his hands and saw a ceiling few others dared to voice.

"We spent a very particular season together in Shakhtar," De Zerbi said, as quoted by 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."

That word – potential – is doing a lot of work. De Zerbi knows it.

"The potential of the player can be the same and can respect the prediction or not," he added. The belief is intact. The outcome is still an open question.

From €100m hope to career crossroads

Since that €100m move to Chelsea in January 2023, Mudryk has not come close to justifying the outlay. Flashes, yes. Sustained impact, no.

De Zerbi did not pretend otherwise. He pointed to a catalogue of setbacks that have derailed the 25-year-old’s momentum, including a lengthy spell away from elite competition after a suspension.

"Until now, he has had many problems," De Zerbi admitted. "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."

That is the crux of it. Not discovering new qualities, but respecting the ones everyone once raved about.

"He has to leave this season in a right way, not too [much] pressure," De Zerbi continued. "But 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."

The message is sharp: clubs do not throw €100m at ghosts. The talent that persuaded Chelsea is still there. It just has not been seen often enough in England.

A cautious restart at Spurs

For now, the conversation shifts from Ballon d'Or to basics. Mudryk needs minutes, rhythm, and the feeling of being decisive again.

De Zerbi made it clear that match fitness will not arrive overnight. The Ukrainian has not had the volume of football needed to walk straight into a Premier League starting XI.

So Tottenham will start small.

De Zerbi revealed that Mudryk is ready for only a short cameo at first, somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes, with Saturday’s clash against Nottingham Forest circled as the likely first glimpse for Spurs supporters.

It will not be the full Mudryk experience. It might just be a sprint, a dribble, a hint. But for a player whose career has drifted off course, even that could matter.

Spurs’ £75m question

Tottenham’s option to buy looms over the entire move. If Mudryk catches fire under his old mentor, Spurs could turn this into a long-term reunion and a headline deal. If he does not, he returns to Chelsea with his future no clearer than before.

Right now, De Zerbi is not talking about next summer or the market. He is talking about a season that has to be lived "in a right way," with less noise and more football.

The Ballon d'Or prediction hangs in the background like a dare to the football world. Can Mudryk finally look like that player again, under the coach who believed in him first – and still refuses to let the idea go?