Ian Wright has labelled Chelsea winger and Newcastle United transfer target, Callum Hudson-Odoi, as a ‘major talent’ but admits to being ‘confused’ by his career.
The 21-year-old is still trying to establish himself in Chelsea’s first-team after breaking through as a teenager, which also came with him earning three England caps.
Newcastle are now seemingly keen to add him to their ranks, but it wasn’t so long ago that German champions, Bayern Munich, were also trying to lure him to the Allianz Arena.
It’s fair to say that the early Bayern interest has now gone away, as Hudson-Odoi is trying to win over Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge.
Wright touched upon the Englishman’s career so far and how he could have possibly headed abroad, like Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori, and thrived, as he told his own podcast.
“With Sterling coming in there, what happens with Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi,” asked Wright. “With everything we were expecting from Callum, we thought that Tuchel loved him and it was going to happen.
“The fact that he was in the team, then it all came about (Bayern Munich interest), then the new contract and he’s in the first-team, so you are where you want to be. Then it’s about ‘what can I do to be better in the team?’ and ‘what can I work on?’
“You are now in that first team and it’s up to you to do everything you can do to keep you in there. Once you are in the first team, this is why I am confused, people said ‘if he went away somewhere then he could have got the experience’. But I am thinking ‘you are there now in the first team’. What are we saying, he is there too early? You can still learn whilst you are in the first team and around it.
“This is why I am confused. You look at all of the players that leave Chelsea, you look at Tomori, Tammy, Salah and de Bruyne. People leave Chelsea and thrive, I get that. But once you get yourself into a position where you are in the first team, then I think it’s down to you to do everything you can to say in there.
“With Raheem going there, I think it’s going to be a massive, massive thing for him. A massive boost. From watching him in the under-17 World Cup and watching just how he flew. He’s world-class. For that age group for what he was doing because he was putting in world-class performances in that tournament. But for the injuries, he probably continues that. He is a major talent that can’t be wasted.”
SHOULD HUDSON-ODOI JOIN NEWCASTLE?
Raheem Sterling has been signed up by Chelsea, so that’s one player Hudson-Odoi will be playing behind next season, but will his capture help or hinder the player?
There’s no doubt that Hudson-Odoi would learn a lot from the four-time Premier League winner, but at the same time, it might also decrease his minutes out on the pitch.
Ahead of the new season, Eddie Howe is seemingly searching for that wide player to bulk up his squad, so a possible move to St James’ Park might just be a wise option for the player.
The issue he probably faces is that he would probably only want a loan move, whilst the Magpies are looking for that permanent player to boost their squad.
Either way, this is now the time for Hudson-Odoi to take the steps in his career many thought he would have taken by now.
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