Callum Hudson-Odoi opened the scoresheet for Chelsea in their Champions League match against Rennes which ended in 2-1. Hudson Odoi got his start and grabbed the opportunity quite well by delivering a very hardworking and productive performance,
With high competition for spots in the squad of Blues this season, the young winger has had to be patient but seemed lively as he posed a continual threat to the oppositions in France, last night and scored the opening goal.
That means, now Hudson-Odoi has found the net on his first two starts for Chelsea, both in the Champions League, away at Krasnodar. Whenever he is given a chance to shine, he is always ready to impress Frank Lampard, the 20-year-old pursues his main focus in just helping his team to win.
The coach of Chelsea, Frank Lampard had made it very clear about what he wants from Hudson-Odoi. He stated that he expects the activity on the ball and more end product from him. These demands got completely fulfilled against Rennes. The winger was very effective on both sides with the ball, displaying plenty of intent. Cross to Werner by him was totally magnificent and should have been scored by the German.
The first-half goal of Chelsea in Rennes was generated by the combination of two Academy players of Chelsea – Hudson Odoi himself with Mason Mount. The winger slotted himself into the back of the net after Mount had won the ball in the midfield and followed his run with an excellent pass from behind. However, according to Hudson-Odoi, he never doubted his team-mate about the type of assist that helped him to get the goal.
Despite standing as the team’s major creator on paper, he did not get the chance to have good stats as Chelsea’s play did not go through him much and as an outcome, he finished with just a goal.
Since the start of 2020, Hudson-Odoi has not played for England. He is set to take place next summer because of the rescheduled European Championships. He will be very eager to impress Chelsea between now and the edge of the season so as to secure his place in England team.
However, he will have to deal with intense competition to get a spot in the starting XI of Lampard. Frank Lampard seems fully set to construct the core of his side around young talent, and the Blues had one of their nicest transfer windows’ in the recent remembrance of last summer.
Since Hudson-Odoi was a South player, he has been with the Blues ever since. In 2017, he got introduced into the first team and showed enough promises. Interestingly, he has never been sent on a loan and this is proving how highly the Blues hierarchy views him.
Most players were sent on loan in their careers to mature and accumulate more experience at higher levels. However, in recent years, he has been strongly linked with a move to German giants, Bayern Munich and the Bavarian giants are even acknowledged to have had a bid rejected for the Englishman previous summer.
Coutinho and Perisic returned after completing their successful one-year loan in Bayern Munich leaving a void. Bayern’s manager, Hansi Flick was bound to call up another winger to finalize with his current cast of Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry. Hudson-Odoi is a player who can play across the forward line, but in the last season, he primarily used as a left-winger in either a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1. That is the main reason why Flick was keen to sign him in the summer.
Hudson-Odoi’s one of the best and main strengths are his ability in one on one situations due to his direct approach where he gets very comfortable using either foot, creating him an unpredictable commodity. He is a prototype new forward, maintaining explosive acceleration that allows him to burst past full-backs with comfort.
No surprise why he was associated with the current Champions League holder. So, Hudson-Odoi can be proved as an asset for Chelsea during Frank Lampard’s rotation and the club can obtain advantages from his zeal to fight. In turn, his form can help him to get into the England squad for the Euros next year.
