Callum Hudson-Odoi was excellent against Nottingham Forest. To play for Chelsea, he ironically just needs a chance to show his talent.
When Callum Hudson-Odoi submitted his transfer request this time last year, it did not come from a place of betrayal. Not on his part at least. Hudson-Odoi was merely the culmination of nearly two decades of the academy being ignored. When given a chance, Hudson-Odoi showed his talent, but that was all too rare.
Eventually the board forced Maurizio Sarri’s hand and Hudson-Odoi was given an actual chance. He not only earned it but continued to earn it. Injury stole the remainder of his season and Frank Lampard has been careful to ease the winger back into the squad.
It has been a year, but in a way Hudson-Odoi still just needs a chance to play. The calculus has changed thanks to the injury, but the end result cannot. The Englishman needs a run of games and he will show his talent. It is just a matter of where.
Lampard is mostly using Hudson-Odoi as a super sub in recent weeks. But it was becoming increasingly apparent that what the winger needed now in his recovery was a run of games to find his form again. Even with training, it is difficult to sit on the bench for as long as he has and slip right back into things.
So on that note, Nottingham Forest, while an excellent performance by Hudson-Odoi, may be a blip. The winger had good games earlier in the season before the needs of his recovery shifted. Now he needs a consistent run of matches to build on.
There will be hiccups in that run of course. Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, and Fikayo Tomori were not without fault in their first few matches. But the important thing is that they were played through those down spells and they came out the other side better.
The alternative if Lampard is not willing to drop Willian for a few weeks to give Hudson-Odoi a spot is to send the winger on loan. That is seen as the less appealing option to fans and likely the winger himself but he will not return to the way he used to be without playing time. He will not reach his full potential without it either.
Like all loans, it should only be a loan where the player A: is near guaranteed to be a starter and B: is challenged outside of their comfort zone. Given how Hudson-Odoi ran the show against Nottingham Forest, the Championship is probably out. Realistically, that leaves only the Premier League. Any other loan (assuming it is only for six months) would probably go poorly due to the integration period.
Hudson-Odoi is clearly a talented player. All that he needs is some trust for a few days in a row to find out what he is capable of doing post injury. Forest can be the first building block. Burnley the next and Newcastle after that. Give Hudson-Odoi a run and see what he can do.