New Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has urged Callum Hudson-Odoi to fulfil his undoubted potential, the Englishman having impressed in recent weeks.
The 20-year-old has endured a stop-start Blues career, with injuries and the arrival of a host of attacking talent inhibiting his game time at Stamford Bridge.
The forward has previously been the subject of bids from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, while he was also rumoured with a loan move away from the club last summer.
With no such departure coming to fruition, the England international has been forced to bide his time at the London club, yet he’s arguably enjoying his best run of form in a Chelsea shirt of late.
Since the arrival of Tuchel, in particular, the youngster has flourished and has shown his versatility to slot in a wing-back, with the German opting for a three at the back thus far.
While he hasn’t found the net yet under his new boss, he has looked incredibly lively, with Tuchel urging him to kick on and reach his obvious potential.
‘I became aware of Callum during my days at Paris,’ Tuchel said at his pre-match press conference ahead of his sides clash with Newcastle tomorrow.
‘I’d say probably two years ago. His name popped up on our radar because, clearly, he had so much potential.
‘I’ve always liked Callum because of the personality he shows on the pitch. Now I’ve got to know him better, I can say he’s a really positive guy and he always has a smile on his face.
‘We like this a lot, his positive mentality and his positive attitude on the pitch. Of course, he is also very talented and we can see his ability to speed up the game with a high-intensity run. He also shows composure on the ball and, of course, he can score and assist.
‘He’s shown his ability at youth levels and then moving up into the Premier League. These are the steps he has to take into the adult game and the challenge for Callum now is to keep working hard, keep improving and become a regular and maintain a certain level all the time.
‘That’s the challenge for Callum and we will be by his side every step of the way. He’s made a very good start but he cannot rely only on match minutes, he must keep working hard and maintaining his high levels in training too. But he is doing really well and I’m very pleased with Callum.’
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