Chelsea has been plagued with injury troubles especially in the attack. However, this latest injury crisis has been a boon for Callum Hudson-Odoi, who seem to be gaining the confidence of his manager.
Callum Hudson-Odoi has been a forgotten figure at Chelsea ever since the arrival of current manager Thomas Tuchel. But the injuries to Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner alongside the fitness issues of Christian Pulisic have forced Tuchel to give more game time to Hudson-Odoi.
Though only 21, Hudson-Odoi has been part of the Chelsea side for some time now. Once considered on the same level as Jadon Sancho and Phil Foden, the lack of minutes on pitch have hampered his progress.
INJURY AT CHELSEA HELPING HUDSON-ODOI
The vast riches of their owners, as well as an amazing academy, means that Chelsea is blessed with one of the best squads in the world. Competition for places in the current Chelsea side is at an all-time high. This means that it is always hard for a young academy star to break through into the main team.
Callum Hudson-Odoi is considered one of the most talented players to come through the ranks of Chelsea academy. The player has already featured 109 times for the senior team, scoring 14 and assisting for 18 goals. However, most of these appearances are from the bench.
The 21-year-old is at such a time of his career, where he needs to be playing every week for his side. But manager Tuchel has plenty of options at his disposal. At the beginning of his tenure, the German used Hudson-Odoi in the wing-back position, but the youngster was not the best fit in that position.
Tuchel seems to have lost the confidence in the player, resulting in reduced playing time. Since the arrival of Lukaku this season, Tuchel started deploying two attackers up front. With either Kai Havertz or Timo Werner used as a pair with Lukaku, Hudson-Odoi soon found it harder to find minutes.
TIME TO MAKE A CHANGE
But things seem to have changed as injuries to both Lukaku and Werner have forced Tuchel to use his wingers. Hudson-Odoi was quick to maximise this opportunity as he is starting to show his qualities to the manager.
Yet this could not be enough for the 21-year-old to cement his place in the Chelsea side. The manager could use the more expensive and experienced signing instead of Hudson-Odoi once the players recover from injuries. Hence for Hudson-Odoi, he will have a tough decision to make about his future.
The English winger has a lot of admirers, including the German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund in particular could be an interesting choice as the club is famous for trusting young talents. Hudson-Odoi have only completed more than 1000 minutes in a league season once. This is not enough for someone his age, and with Chelsea packed with superstars, a move away looks the best for the 21-year-old.
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