Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi took a significant step forward in Chelsea’s FA Cup win against Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge, but Frank Lampard has no doubt that there is more to come from the youngster.
The Blues defeated Championship outfit Nottingham Forest 2-0 this Sunday, with Hudson-Odoi opening the scoring for the home side and midfielder Ross Barkley also found the back of the net.
Lampard suggested in his pre-match news conference that the west London giants may have been expecting too much of the 19-year-old Hudson Odoi, who returned from five months out with an injury which was a ruptured Achilles back in September.
The teenage sensation has struggled for form since returning to the first team, but the 41-year-old Lampard was impressed by his display against Forest.
While speaking to reporters after the game, the English manager explained that he was glad to see Hudson Odoi on the pitch putting in a good performance and finally getting a goal to his name as well, “It was a good performance. I was pleased to see him high up the pitch, pleased to see him being aggressive in how he gets at people, which is what he is there for. He gets his goal with a great strike,”
Lampard then added that it must have been a difficult year for the young playmaker but hinted that there is more to come from the talented Hudson Odoi, “It has been an interesting 12 months for him considering how young he is when you take that into account. Last year everyone was talking about him for different reasons. He gets a terrible injury, he comes back very early and when he did come back there were issues getting him tip top. This was a nice step forward for him. Next time it will be, ‘Can you do more?’ When you are a player of speed and sharpness when you have an injury like that it can be slightly held back. There is a lot of strength work he needs to do – stuff on the pitch and in the gym now we’re getting him towards the point where he has that acceleration. As a player, he is 19 and he has had that injury so there is a lot more to come from him.”
