Roberto De Zerbi informed reporters after Tottenham Hotspur's incredible 2-0 victory over a short handed Crystal Palace that left winger Mykhaylo Mudryk will likely be ready to return to action after the November international break later this month. Mudryk only got 16 minutes of action against Nottingham Forest after years of being away from the game, only to predictably suffer an ankle injury immediately upon his return to action.
The loan punt on Mudryk was met derisively by spectators across the Premier League, including those around N17, especially since Spurs fans thought they were going to get a much stronger replacement for Richarlison at striker who could actually score goals. And instead they landed another pet favorite of De Zerbi's in Mudryk.
Except unlike Sandro Tonali or Jan Paul van Hecke, Mudryk does not have an established track record of success in the Premier League, and really, aside from a few notable games at Shakhtar Donetsk under De Zerbi as a prospect, he's accomplished a whole lot of nothing in world football other than being a historic level transfer bust for rivals Chelsea.
The thing is, even though nothing has changed for Mykhaylo Mudryk specifically between the 0-0 draw with Forest at the beginning of September, a lot has changed for Tottenham Hotspur and Roberto De Zerbi.
Tottenham have now won three games in a row after starting the 2026/27 Premier League season without a win, and De Zerbi is on top of the world, with many Spurs fans feeling that they can be legitimate title contenders at this rate, especially if they are able to stay the course until winter and sign a real difference maker at the 9 - like Eli Junior Kroupi from Bournemouth.
There is a lot of faith in De Zerbi right now, as Tottenham look like a machine tactically and are playing in the vein of De Zerbi. And the signings he demanded at all costs have been flourishing, with Tonali and Van Hecke looking like arguably the best players in the Premier League in their respective roles and positions.
So Mudryk is going to get the benefit of the doubt when he comes back from injury. He has not done anything, of course, but De Zerbi has, and there is going to be more faith in De Zerbi and in his pick, Mudryk, than there was before. And if Mudryk does fail, nobody will hold it against De Zerbi because of all the good he has done. In that way, psychologically, the pressure is off the Ukrainian, too, which is the best possible news for a young man who has been through a lot of tumult since coming to England.
This article was originally published on www.hotspurhq.com as Roberto De Zerbi has earned Tottenham's trust on Mykhaylo Mudryk .
