A number of injuries to Gareth Southgate’s England squad have presented the reserves with an opportunity to impress on the international stage, with James Ward-Prowse and Callum Hudson-Odoi having been called upon for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Czech Republic and Montenegro. Will the latter leave Maurizio Sarri with egg on his face?
Chelsea fans were surely relieved when another Blues player was drafted into the England squad after one of their two representatives, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, pulled out with an injury – Hudson-Odoi’s call-up will hopefully give them the opportunity to examine the prospect over the international break.
The Stamford Bridge faithful rarely get to see the electric winger in domestic action as Sarri prefers the likes of Pedro and Willian on the wings in spite of the weekly requests for Hudson-Odoi to start.
The Neapolitan boss’ explanations for the youngster’s exclusion seem to get more ridiculous week after week and his latest assessment is the most baffling yet:
“In my opinion, a player at 18 he cannot be at the top.
“He will only arrive at the top at 22 or 23 years old, like every other player. I think to have pressure when you are 18 is very dangerous for the player. You can lose the target.”
The international break presents Hudson-Odoi with the chance to show the Chelsea boss that he is already at the level he says is unattainable for another four years.
With the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling to contend with for a starting berth, the Under-17’s World Cup winner will have his work cut out for him to get good minutes but, now that he’s got his foot through the door, he will undoubtedly get opportunities – if not this time around, the next, or the time after that.