Callum Hudson-Odoi has admitted that he tried getting Japhet Tanganga ‘booked again’ during Chelsea’s 2-0 win against Tottenham on Sunday, as he told Premier League Productions (23/01/22 at 6:50 pm).
In the first half, Tanganga was yellow-carded for a foul on the Chelsea winger and Hudson-Odoi was hoping that if he ‘kept going’ at the Spurs defender in the second half, then he would get sent off.
Hudson-Odoi was involved in Hakim Ziyech opening the scoring for Chelsea, when his run past Tanganga eventually resulted in his teammate curling an outstanding effort into the back of the net.
Not long after, Tanganga was hooked by his manager, Antonio Conte, for midfielder, Oliver Skipp.
Hudson-Odoi spoke about his battle with the Tottenham man and what he was thinking going into the second half.
“I knew in the first half that he got the booking,” said Hudson-Odoi.
“So, I said to myself, ‘if you keep being direct at him, keep going at him, then hopefully he is going to pull you or foul you to try and get a second booking’.
“I just kept saying to myself ‘keep going at him and get him booked again’.”
That may have been Tanganga’s last hurrah for Spurs because there is talk of him possibly leaving before the January transfer window slams shut.
AC Milan are keen to bring the hard-hitting defender to Serie A on a loan deal, but it seems as though Spurs are favouring an ‘option to buy’ policy, as reported by the Athletic.
If Spurs do let the 22-year-old go on a permanent basis, then it would be a surprise because there is a lot of promise to the player’s game.
If Conte has a fully fit squad, then the likes of Eric Dier, Ben Davies, Davinson Sanchez and Cristian Romero start in front of the player in a back three.
But the potential is there for Tanganga to become a top-quality defender in England’s top-flight, so letting him go on a permanent basis would be a mistake.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
