Callum Hudson-Odoi is right in picking Chelsea over England babies

Chelsea is not perfect with their academy integration even if it is massively improved from what it was before Frank Lampard. That being said, the club has never put up artificial barriers to prevent the youth from coming through until they hit some unseen metric. In fact, very few if any clubs hold players to that level.

England is clearly different. Gareth Southgate hasn’t called up Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi with the winger instead snubbing all callups to stay at Chelsea. It’s the right call.

Listen, Hudson-Odoi is one of the most protected players at Chelsea and this is going to come off as biased no matter which way it is sliced. But the simple fact of the matter is that playing for the England u-21 team, the team which Hudson-Odoi rejected a callup to, is a complete waste of time for a player like him. What is there to gain playing in the Premier League one week and the kids the next week? It’s like saying when he doesn’t start for Chelsea he should go start with the development side. He’s far past the point of that being a challenge so why waste his time?

Then there is the other side of this coin, the silly nationalistic side that says if he rejects any callup then he shouldn’t be called up again. Purely from a football point of view that makes no sense when players are being ground down by fixtures since Covid started (and before honestly). Suddenly not sitting at the kids table is a step to far!

In fact, being called up to the u-21s while Jadon Sancho goes to the main team is a bit of an insult right now. Based on current form, Hudson-Odoi should be with England, not with their babies. Furthermore, Southgate said Hudson-Odoi was “missing a chance to impress us” which is basically him saying he hasn’t been watching the Premier League this season. And all of this is made even more confusing because Hudson-Odoi is not yet cap tied.

Hudson-Odoi is still eligible to play for Ghana. Now, the motivations of selecting a national team are highly varied and personal, but it’s a bit crazy that England is even allowing Hudson-Odoi to entertain the notion. Sure, England will have other players and Ghana will never reach the heights England could potentially reach, but snapping up international talent when there isn’t a second chance is the smart thing to do. Mind, that comes from an American whose nation will go for every dual national player they can to shore up the player pool.

If Southgate wants to be impressed by Hudson-Odoi, he should watch the Premier League. If he wants Hudson-Odoi to pick England over Chelsea or perhaps eventually Ghana, he should call him up and not leave him for the disaster that is the England u-21s. Treat Hudson-Odoi like a professional and he’ll play like one for you. Thomas Tuchel understands that, but Southgate has put up barriers to keep Hudson-Odoi at the kid’s table.