Why Callum Hudson-Odoi Deserves Chance With Chelsea First Team
![Why Callum Hudson-Odoi Deserves Chance With Chelsea First Team Why Callum Hudson-Odoi Deserves Chance With Chelsea First Team](https://www.si.com/.image/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/MTY4MDMxMzY3NzI5OTgwODAw/arsenal-v-chelsea-international-champions-cup-2018-5b62e4267bf19e959b000038jpg.jpg)
Preseason is essentially a tool in which to examine the strengths of those members of the squad who are either too young or too undervalued to obtain a starting berth, but Callum Hudson-Odoi is taking advantage of his summer with Chelsea by showing his new manager Maurizio Sarri what he is capable of. On Wednesday night at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin against Arsenal, the 17-year-old, who was playing alongside four World Cup and six Champions League winners, was by far the most dangerous and entertaining player on the pitch.
Right from the off, the Chelsea winger, who has played for England's youth teams and is eligible for both the Three Lions and Ghana, outperformed Hector Bellerin, with his exploits eventually leading to a penalty after the right back clumsily brought him down after a particularly incisive run.
Yet it wasn't just sheer pace and trickery that had the Spaniard stumped - there was plenty of tactical awareness and technical quality on show as well.
This was illustrated perfectly in just the fourth minute - after collecting the ball in the middle of his own half, he speeded forward, leaving Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stranded and making thirty yards of ground before he was admirably tackled by Matteo Guendouzi.
As an attacking player, Hudson-Odoi has more competition ahead of him, including Pedro, Willian and Eden Hazard, but you could also argue that there is far more margin for error as a young center back than there is for a promising forward.
With a haul of Blues still resting from the World Cup, the youngster is likely to get a starting place for this Sunday's Community Shield against champions Manchester City. Hopefully he'll be alongside his compatriot Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who'll be looking to impress the new gaffer in equal measure after returning prematurely from his holidays.
Of course, potential has been over-hyped and misconstrued in many a pre-season - just look at the relative furore surrounding Ross Barkley following a couple of flashes here and there this summer - but it does seem noteworthy that the academy graduate has been able to not only maintain his performance levels across the three games, but incrementally improve each time.
Hudson-Odoi may go out on loan with the hope of developing more experience outside of Stamford Bridge, but one thing is for certain, the young prodigy has a bright future ahead of him.