Frank Lampard could be set to reunite with Mykhailo Mudryk after Coventry City made contact with Chelsea about the winger's availability. The newly-promoted side are one of three Premier League clubs to have enquired.
Lampard coached Mudryk during his spell in charge of the Blues in 2023 and could now utilise his services again in more positive circumstances. The Chelsea icon led Coventry to the Championship title last season, his first role since a difficult interim spell at Stamford Bridge.
Mudryk's return sparks interest
Mudryk has returned to football after not playing since November 2024 against Heidenheim. The 25-year-old tested positive for meldonium, but the FA has ended its anti-doping proceedings after he accepted breaching anti-doping rules. The parties agreed to a suspension equal to the one year and eight months already served by the former Shakhtar Donetsk player.
His return has led to significant interest, with three Premier League teams and three more from Europe making contact about his future. The Chelsea speedster, who signed in a deal worth up to £88.5m, is currently in Hong Kong with the west London side on their pre-season tour.
Alonso cautious on Mudryk fitness
Xabi Alonso gave little away about Mudryk's future. "We need to see," he said. "It's too early to tell, to see how he is in terms of fitness, in terms of this game time that you need to be involved again, so it's still early to tell."
"We can expect that [it will take longer to get back to full fitness and sharpness]," Alonso added. "We have the Mudryk that [we had], it will take time, but once there is a change, things start moving, and for him it's a massive change. So he trained on his own every day, and I think it had to be really, really hard, because he wanted to play football, he wanted to be part of a team, and he was not allowed to do that for such a long time."
"So once this big change has happened, now things will move on, and afterwards we will see if it's quicker, if it's slower, but we need to be aware of that."
Coventry add Ruddy
Coventry have also added teenage goalkeeper Jack Ruddy to Lampard's squad over the weekend. Ruddy joined from Norwich and is the son of former Norwich and Newcastle shotstopper John Ruddy, who left the Magpies at the end of last season.
Lampard was team-mates with Ruddy senior on the international stage, with both selected for England in 2021 for a win over Italy.
