Callum Hudson-Odoi was the star youth for Chelsea just over a year ago. A revolution later, he still can be, but he will have to take his chances.
It was clear in the 2018/2019 preseason that Callum Hudson-Odoi was something special. He was easily the best player that presesaon, yet he barely featured in the first half of the season. It took a transfer request (because at the time, there was no youth pathway at Chelsea) and the board literally ordering Maurizio Sarri to use him for the English winger to see the pitch. He did not let the expectations down. Injury pulled him off of cloud nine and largely hindered him throughout this 2019/2020 season. What questions should be asked before the new season?
1. Are the injury issues behind him?
Both Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek suffered similar (albeit different in severity) injuries at almost the same time. Much can be said about the physio department and the management for that but what was always more important was A: how long it would take them to recover and B: the effect it would have on them long term.
The injury was sure to steal pace from both players but such a long lay off can steal a great many other things as well. Beyond that, it takes a long time, even after returning to fitness, to get used to the pace of the game again.
That was very much seen with both Loftus-Cheek and Hudson-Odoi. The English winger had a less severe injury and a shorter layoff, but he never truly found his feet in the 19/20 season. That is not surprising, but the criticism of him both from Chelsea fans and rival fans, was largely unjust due to what Hudson-Odoi had to fight against.
Hudson-Odoi will not be able to lean on that any longer. With all the time off and not one but two wingers departing, the path is clear for Hudson-Odoi to show what he has got. If his injury issues are not behind him, then he needs to do what he can to put them in the rear view.
2018/2019 should have been “Hudson-Odoi’s season”. 2019/2020 should have been too had he not been injured. 2020/2021 will have to be his year now. The stage is set for the young English winger.