Hudson-Odoi scoring and assisting for fun behind closed doors, but needs to play as an attacker
It really feels like make or break season now for Callum
Opening day of the season, and it was a start for Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Brilliant I thought, he’s been on fire in pre-season and in training, and he has really been looking the confident and explosive player we all know he can be and showed before his bad Achilles injury.
However, he wasn’t starting in his best and preferred position, he was starting at right wing back.
This has pro’s and cons. Great, he is getting minutes, and he started the game, he is getting opportunities. And sometimes, for young players, they need to be prepared to suck it up and take whatever minutes they get, wherever it is on the pitch.
This is fine, and trust me, Hudson-Odoi just wants to play and is appreciative of the minutes anywhere on the park.
But if you want to very best of Hudson-Odoi, and you want to give Hudson-Odoi the very best chance of making it at Chelsea, then he must play in his best position in order to thrive.
That is at left wing, or right wing. At the very least, he must be in an attacking position and not a defensive one.
Hudson-Odoi has been scoring for fun in pre-season training and behind closed doors games. Against Weymouth yesterday in a behind closed doors friendly, Callum scored twice and got six assists. His position? Attacking right. He’s been doing it in attacking roles for weeks now.
Whilst he will certainly do a job at right wing back, and I have even had thoughts creeping in that perhaps he just need to try and perfect that role and become the best at it in order to make it with us and get regular game time, at the end of the day it just isn’t fair to ask an attacking player to play in a more defensive role.
That is like asking Kai Havertz to play as a wing back and expect him to be as good as he is as an attacker. Just deep that for a moment.
Hudson-Odoi is an attacking player and if you want to best out of him he needs to play in an attacking role.
I totally understand Tuchel’s thinking here, he wants Hudson-Odoi to play and he rates him. He has Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Romelu Lukaku, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech, and Callum Hudson-Odoi for three starting attacking roles… At least with Callum he has more opportunities to play as well as a wing back. But that is a lot of competition.
Tuchel clearly sees a wing back in Hudson-Odoi, and maybe he feels like he can transition him into one. That is fine.
But I’ll reiterate, if you want to see the very best out of Hudson-Odoi right here and now, he must be given chances in an attacking role.
Then after being given a solid run and solid game time in his best and preferred position and he isn’t living up to his potential, then you can perhaps have a conversation that maybe he just isn’t going to make it here. But I guarantee if he does get those chances, he will prove he is more than good enough to make it here.
Simon Phillips