Pochettino says Mudryk 'needs to understand the game better'

Mauricio Pochettino says Mykhailo Mudryk needs to 'understand the game better' after the £88.5million Ukrainian again struggled in Chelsea's goalless draw at Bournemouth.

The winger still hasn't found the net in 21 Chelsea appearances since arriving from Shakhtar Donetsk in January on an eight-and-a-half year contract.

He was substituted for Cole Palmer in the 63rd minute at the Vitality Stadium but Chelsea wouldn't force a breakthrough in another disappointing result.

Pochettino suggested that Mudryk is still coming up to speed with the Premier League.

'He is improving. He still needs to learn; the Premier League is very fast, the speed of the game is so fast,' the Chelsea manager told Sky Sports.

'I think it's about understanding the game better, try to be more connected sometimes with the team.

'We need to give the time and to give the tools for him to improve during the season.'

The Blues sit 14th in the table with just five points taken from five matches so far as they expensive-assembled players struggle to perform.

They have only scored five goals in the Premier League so far - their lowest return after five matches of a post-1992 season since 1995-96, when they'd also managed just five.

The poor form comes despite a spend on new players of over £1billion since Todd Boehly took over the club last year.

Pochettino called on the fans to have patience with new signings, pointing out that even the great Zinedine Zidane struggled at first when he joined Real Madrid.

'At Chelsea the expectation is always massive. When you arrive at Chelsea as a player or coaching staff, the people expect to win, lift some trophies, perform and score,' he said.

'We now have a really young squad, players that are good investments for the club. We