Is it time for Chelsea to let go of Callum Hudson-Odoi?

Callum Hudson-Odoi is one of Chelsea’s most talented players. However, he is also one of the most underused players by Thomas Tuchel, and maybe it is time for the club to ask itself, “do they really need the youngster?”

While the player certainly has a high potential, he is yet to show his consistency. The longer he sits on the bench, the more confidence he will lose. Thus, it would be a wise move to let go of him now, if he is not in Tuchel’s future plans.

20-year-old Hudson-Odoi has always been in the Chelsea family since an early age. He is one of the most talented players to have come out of the Blues’ academy. However, he could never really make a significant mark on the field which would keep him in the first team. The left-winger made his Chelsea debut in the 2017/18 season, and he made four appearances in total that year. In the next season, he made a lot more appearances, but most of them came from the bench and he was only in the starting eleven four times in the Premier League.

Chelsea should sell Callum Hudson-Odoi if Thomas Tuchel does not have concrete plans for the youngster.

His big chance to shine came when Frank Lampard was appointed. Eden Hazard had just left the London side for Real Madrid, Christian Pulisic was still settling into the club, and Willian and Pedro were both in their last seasons with the club. It was the perfect time for an academy graduate to storm onto the scene. Lampard wanted the youths to take over the club and he gave a lot of chances to players such as Mason Mount, Reece James, Tammy Abraham, etc. However, Odoi was injured at the start of the season and then again got injured in the middle of the season. This left him with very little chance of playing regularly and he missed his big opportunity.

He was used sparingly by Lampard in the next season, however, after Tuchel took over, he became heavily involved. Tuchel’s plan was to play the winger as a wing-back and get his additional speed to help the forwards. It was a good plan until James showed Tuchel that he could do exactly what Odoi was doing while maintaining his defensive duties as well. Hudson-Odoi is not a defender, he does not have the defensive mindset and the awareness to trackback. Thus, his side is always a bit vulnerable when it comes to defending. James on the other hand has the best of both worlds. Not only is he a robust defender, but his attacking sense has also grown a lot as he demonstrated in the match against Arsenal.

With Tuchel sticking with a 3-4-3 formation, there is not much room for wingers at the moment. The starting lineup has pretty much established themselves and talented wingers such as Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech also find it tough to get into the team. Hudson-Odoi will be used occasionally by Tuchel and that is the reason why the German did not allow the player to move to Borussia Dortmund on a loan. However, is Chelsea making the right decision in keeping him?

Truth being said, the player is not being utilized fully, and that is because the Chelsea squad is just filled with too many talented players. Two big Germans clubs were after the player for a few seasons, Dortmund and Bayern Munich, and maybe it is time to let him go if he is not being played. Bayern is clearly very much interested in him although the Blues turned its offer down a year back. Dortmund on the other hand wants to loan out the player which could also be a good option.

Instead of keeping a talented player stuck to the bench, sending him on a loan to a big club could not only increase his value but also give him valuable game time. Not sending him to Dortmund was a wasted opportunity, however, Tuchel claims that he has plans for the player, so we will have to wait and see how he is implemented. Should this be another season for Odoi where he spends the majority of his time on the bench, he should definitely be sold in the next season. Not only will it help the player’s career but his sale can also bring in quite a bit of money to the club.

Do you think Chelsea should keep Hudson-Odoi or sell him? Let us know in the comments down below!