Three big questions: Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi and chances

2. Is he a better winger or inside forward?

Maurizio Sarri liked one winger to be inverted or act as an inside forward driving towards goal. He wanted the other to be more of a traditional winger stretching the play. Frank Lampard, meanwhile, is fond of both of his wingers tucking in for the majority of the play while occasionally going wide as the situation demands.

Both managers had the same hiccup about Hudson-Odoi; is he a better winger or an inside forward? The answer is “yes” but that is the lazy explanation. The real explanation is a little more complicated.

As an inside forward (usually on the left), Hudson-Odoi is able to take advantage of his solid dribbling skills as he drives at the opposition defense. It also puts him on to his strongest side (though he is basically two footed) for a shot. The main draw backs are that dribbling and cutting in to shoot are both zero sum games. Hudson-Odoi either scores or wastes a chance. He either breaks through on the dribble or is dispossessed.

On the wing (usually the right), Hudson-Odoi is able to avoid a direct conflict with the opposition defense. Out wide, he almost always has a fullback/wingback to play off of directly which is a good use of his movement and passing. He is surely not the best crosser in the squad, but he is good at it and unafraid to whip the ball into the box. In addition, being naturally wide allows him more time to reach his full sprint on through balls. The main downside to this is that it makes him less involved in the game as a whole and he has a tendency to drift out of matches when playing wider.

The main competition for Hudson-Odoi in both roles is Christian Pulisic who has almost identical variables to work with. Pulisic is also able to play inverted on the left and wide on the right in near equal measure, but playing the American and the Englishman together always ensures that they are in one role.

The arrival of Hakim Ziyech, assuming he does play wide, further muddles this as both Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi will be inverted most of the time on the left. Lampard does not mind that given his tactics but it does tend to make Chelsea rather narrow and stuck in traffic.

How Hudson-Odoi is used throughout the season will be an interesting thing to keep an eye on. He is equally adept at both and both have their benefits and draw backs, but ultimately Lampard will need to settle on a solution.