Sky Sports’ punditry panel covering today’s Sunday fixtures have slammed Maurizio Sarri over his treatment of youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Hudson-Odoi is on the bench today for Chelsea, despite impressing over the international break with Gareth Southgate’s England.
Sarri leaving the 18-year-old out of the side is no surprise, with the Italian inexplicably overlooking him for virtually the whole season to date.
However, something that has raised a few eyebrows is Sarri’s comments about Hudson-Odoi during his pre-match press conference.
READ MORE: Team news: Stubborn Sarri sticks Hudson-Odoi back among the substitutes
READ MORE: Opposition manager believes Hudson-Odoi deserves to start for Chelsea
READ MORE: These fans react to Chelsea’s peculiar, CHO-less starting eleven
As reported by the Daily Mail, our manager revealed that he only saw 20 minutes of CHO’s first start for his country – and he didn’t play well:
“I saw only 20 minutes. Because I had 14 players in the national teams and I had no time to watch 20 matches.”
“So I saw the English national team only for 20-25 minutes, and Callum didn’t start very well in the first 20 minutes on the right. He did very well on the left, immediately.”
It does seem like a rather bizarre thing to say about a player who needs all the nurturing and positive reinforcement that he can get.
It’s yet another demonstration of Sarri’s naivety when it comes to man management – and it’s been picked up by the Sky Sports pundits.
They, Jamie Carragher in particular, have slammed Sarri. Carra branded his comments ‘absolutely stupid’, with Souness also revealing his bemusement.
Have a look at this.
😡"He has really wound me up" @Carra23 was not impressed with Maurizio Sarri's comments on Callum Hudson-Odoi.
More: https://t.co/jbI7BWlKx1 pic.twitter.com/n3il5JMdJp
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 31, 2019
