Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has revealed Callum Hudson-Odoi is ready to fight Willian and Pedro for a place in his Premier League matchday squads.
Hudson-Odoi, 18, has been linked with a move away from Chelsea in the January transfer window with Bayern Munich leading the race for his signature.
Should Hudson-Odoi be starting for Chelsea? Five key things to know…
- Hudson-Odoi is a highly-regarded member of Chelsea’s academy, helping them in their domination of the FA Youth Cup.
- After a good pre-season, the teenager has had fleeting appearances for Chelsea’s first team with Sarri insisting he was not ready for important games.
- The winger recorded two assists in Chelsea’s win over Forest at the weekend, with Chelsea fans urging Sarri to start him ahead of Willian and Pedro.
- And the Italian has given fans hope, admitting he is now considering Hudson-Odoi on the same level as the senior duo.
- Callum Hudson-Odoi is yet to appear in a Premier League matchday squad for Sarri this season.
The teenager has featured sparingly for Chelsea this campaign despite a promising pre-season, playing just seven games across all competitions.
Hudson-Odoi is yet to feature in the Premier League, with Sarri previously admitting he is not ready. But, after the teenager assisted twice in Chelsea’s 2-0 FA Cup third round win over Nottingham Forest, the Italian appears to have changed his mind.
Speaking to the media ahead of Chelsea’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham Hotspur, as reported by the Evening Standard, Sarri said: “He is ready I think. Of course we have very important players in the same position so you want Willian on the bench I think? Pedro? I can play with only two wingers I think.
“Three is different but now he is ready. He can play, of course. Some time he will be on the bench but same as Willian and Pedro. I can start to consider him on the same level.”
The Italian has taken some criticism this season for his sparing use of Hudson-Odoi and Ethan Ampadu, despite fan cries for the pair to see more game time.
And Sarri insists bringing through youth players into the first team is one of his priorities.
He added: “First of all I want good players but we are lucky because our academy is very, very good.
“It is important because if you have five-six players from the academy you can have a soul. More than if you just have 25 foreign players.”
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Sarri: Hudson-Odoi should choose Chelsea over Bayern Munich
Despite his pair of assists against Nottingham Forest, Hudson-Odoi’s future at Chelsea is currently in doubt.
According to reports, German champions Bayern Munich have made a number of bids for the teenager in an effort to replace Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben when the pair leave at the end of the season.
Hudson-Odoi’s current contract at Chelsea runs out in 2020 and the youngster is yet to sign a new deal, with some believing he may follow in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho and look for a move away to ensure game time. These rumours were furthered upon Chelsea’s signing of right-winger Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund,
But Sarri believes Hudson-Odoi is still better off at Stamford Bridge. When asked whether the youngster should move to Bayern, Sarri said: “I don’t think so. Why? Because he is an English player, very young. He has a very great future here, with the England national team and Chelsea. To stay here is better for him.
“Have I spoken to him about this? No because I am not in charge of these questions and don’t want to speak to a player on something that doesn’t depend on me.
“Am I happy with that? Yes, I want to speak to him only about the pitch, about movements, the defensive phase and I am really very happy because he is improving that in a very important way in the last month.”
Hudson-Odoi is in contention to start for Chelsea in their Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham on Tuesday with both Willian and Pedro injury doubts.
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