Chelsea young starlets Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi marked their return to fitness by starting for Chelsea’s U23 side against Brighton’s developmental squad.
Hudson-Odoi, 18, had been sidelined since April after rupturing his Achilles in the Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt and was expected to be out for around six months. James meanwhile was making his first appearance since suffering a serious ankle injury at the Under-20 World Cup with England in the summer.
Both players had a solid if not spectacular game. With 19 minutes on the clock, James threaded the ball to Hudson-Odoi who made headway down the left.
Henry Lawrence made the overlapping run and the winger duly laid it off before the left-back cut inside and curled into the far corner.
The duo’s return will be a big positive for manager Frank Lampard with Chelsea not making a good start to the season.
Reece James has been tipped to replace the first-choice right-back and captain Cesar Azpilicueta when fully fit. Azpilicueta is under pressure after a poor start to the season with him being at fault for several goals Chelsea have conceded this season. Opposition teams have often targeted Chelsea’s right-hand side, seeing Azpilicueta as the weak link.
Callum Hudon-Odoi who has been linked with Bayern Munich in the past is very highly rated by the club. He is yet to pen a new contract at the club but reports say that he is close to agreeing on a new long term lucrative deal.
