Callum Hudson-Odoi has been talked up by Chelsea legend Glenn Hoddle, who insists the Bayern Munich target can be better than Willian and Pedro.
The duo have been preferred by Maurizio Sarri over Hudson-Odoi this season despite the youngster impressing heavily in the few games he has featured in. The 18-year old scored a goal against Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday in the Europa League round of 16.
He was left out of the starting 11 by Sarri, who went with Willian and Pedro, with Eden Hazard rested. There have been calls for him to get more game time and Hoddle is one of those voices. He claims should Hudson-Odoi get more minutes under his belt, he will get better than the current wingers in Sarri’s squad but warns the upcoming star needs to do more to convince he is the real gem.
“Will he be far better than Willian? Will he be far better than Pedro? Probably, if he’s given the chance. He’s got to get the chance to go in there and get the experience under his belt. He looks the part. I’m very disappointed. I expected him to be playing today I must say. You know what Pedro can do, you know what Willian can do.
He’s got to be given a chance. He’s got a talent. We don’t know how far he can go, we don’t know how good he is. He hasn’t been tested against the top teams. I’ve not seen him tear Man City apart or go in Europe and tear people apart.”
Glenn Hoddle, Sun
Bayern Munich were the biggest club interested in signing Hudson-Odoi in the winter transfer window and, per the Daily Mail, made several bids for his services, only to be rejected by Chelsea in all instances. The Blues have a battle awaiting them in the summer over the young winger and with Sarri still using him sporadically, the persuasion to play more in the Bundesliga might be tempting enough to steal him from Stamford Bridge.