Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has insisted that Callum Hudson-Odoi needs to prove himself at the highest level to earn a first-team berth at Stamford Bridge.
The player was on the scoresheet in Saturday’s rout of Norwich City with Thomas Tuchel’s men recording a 7-0 win over the Premier League’s new boys Norwich City who sit at the bottom of the league standings.
Hudson-Odoi was given a rare start with the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner out injured for Chelsea and the England international put out a solid display in the final third of the pitch.
His chances of cementing a berth on the Chelsea teamsheet have been given a surprise boost with the injury crisis at the Bridge and there are expectations of the 20-year-old Hudson-Odoi returning to his very best of form.
Thomas Tuchel, quoted in a report by The Guardian, played down such talk with the German insisting that the winger’s performance levels were not to be judged by a sole outing but rather by a consistent run of form for the forthcoming fixtures.
“The only person who can decide this and answer this question is Callum.”
“It’s as easy as that. Is there a turning point? OK, he needs to prove it. He needs to play the next 250 games on the highest level and then that was the turning point. But is it a turning point if he does a brilliant match tomorrow? No.
“It’s only a turning point if he makes it a turning point – and only if he does not only do one good match, one good half, 60 good minutes, but if he does it consistently,” Tuchel added. “It’s as easy as that with every player.”
“Once you do this you will have more minutes. Once you have more minutes you will maybe look back and say: ‘That was a turning point.’ You need to fight for it. You need to deserve it. It must be a perfect fit in a perfect moment. Sometimes you need a bit of luck. But in the end the only person who can answer that question is Callum. And we will support him.”
