Former Chelsea and England manager Glenn Hoddle wants Callum Hudson-Odoi to be given more game time in order to prove himself at senior level.
The 18-year-old scored after coming off the bench against Dynamo Kiev on Thursday but Hoddle was disappointed he didn’t start the game:
“He looks the part. I am very disappointed and I expected him to be playing today [against Dynamo Kiev]. You know what Pedro can do, you know what Willian can do, he has got to be given a chance.
“We don’t know where he can go, we don’t know how good he is, he hasn’t been tested against the top teams. I haven’t seen him tear Man City apart or go in Europe and tear people apart.”
“He has got immense talent, he looks the part but he needs the time to play.”
Fans on Twitter are in agreement with Hoddle and want Blues boss Maurizio Sarri to take heed of the TV pundit’s advice:
Tell this to sarri. I just don’t understand the logic behind his selection.
— Ogbeni Sly (@sly_92) 8 March 2019
Kind of reminds me of this ? pic.twitter.com/aIuAickuCt
— Alex Pickford (@AlexPickford5) 8 March 2019
Somebody send this tweet in a carrier pigeon to Sarri
— A$AP Rocky (@rockman182) 8 March 2019
Sarri needs to understand this ?@ChelseaFC
— Asano Takuma (@chosen_Juan1) 8 March 2019
He could at the very least be making more sub appearances. His defensive work rate is not as good as Willian/Pedro, but with Kanté on that side, he makes up for it
— CFC (@Chelsea_V96) 8 March 2019
I fear Bayern already has the deal done.
— Ståle Egenes (@Steeliooo) 8 March 2019
Get this man in as DoF ASAP
— Arun (@AJMarlier) 8 March 2019
According to sarri the only aspect of his game play that odoi need to improve is his age. surely this kid needs 1 start in every 3 ganes
— slim G (@slim_gmie) 8 March 2019
After the match, Sarri called for both the fans and the press to stop putting pressure on Hudson-Odoi. The Italian feels the teenager isn’t ready to become a first-team regular quite yet:
“I think to have pressure when you are 18 is very dangerous for the player. You can lose the target. When you are 18, the target is to improve, mentally, tactically and physically.”
There is some truth in those words but considering Hudson-Odoi has four goals and three assists in just 766 minutes of first-team football this season, many believe he should be starting more.
The old phrase “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough” springs to mind. Whether Sarri begins to give the teenager more starts in the coming weeks, we shall see.
