“Full of quality”- Chelsea boss opens up on being unjust to 20-year-old academy graduate

Thomas Tuchel gives his thoughts on Callum Hudson-Odoi as Chelsea gear up to face Southampton

Speaking on the club’s official website (h/t The Independent), Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has opened up on the situation surrounding Callum Hudson-Odoi and hopes that the player will come out stronger in the future.

Hudson-Odoi was selected for the game against Norwich City as Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner were out due to injuries. He took his chance by scoring once in the first half as Chelsea smacked Norwich 7-0 in the Premier League.

The 20-year-old is expected to start against Southampton in the Carabao Cup and would be hoping to add to his opening goal of the season. Tuchel believes that the winger could improve with an extra push and some tough love.

The Blues boss hopes that they can do justice to the England international but believes that making him play out of position can be considered unfair. However, the German has insisted that they are tough on him as it would be in the best interest of all parties involved.

“He needs that. These guys who are so full of quality hear sometimes a bit too often how good they are, but you need to prove it, to show it. “For the offensive guys it is easy – just read statistics and deliver assists and goals.”

Tuchel curiously goes on to add that the club keeps finding ways to challenge Hudson-Odoi on a week to week basis. It may be asking a lot of a 20-year-old but should Hudson-Odoi come out trumps, we can have a real player on our hands.

“We are also very aware we are maybe a bit unfair and play him too often as a right wing-back where he cannot show his full potential. We are aware of that, so it is always a mix and at the moment, we think that we find a way to push him to the limits and this can change from week to week.”

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The 48-year-old manager and the English winger would be hoping to build on his goal against the Saints. With three forwards set to be out due to injuries for quite some time, Hudson-Odoi would want to take his chances as much as possible.