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Hudson-Odoi names dropped England star Sterling ‘an idol’

Callum Hudson-Odoi has lavished praised on Raheem Sterling and described the dropped England star as ‘an idol’.

The Manchester City winger has been dropped for England’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro on Thursday night, following an incident in which the 24-year-old angrily confront Liverpool defender Joe Gomez on international duty as tensions spilled over from the huge meeting between the Premier League rivals last weekend.

The dispute has since been settled, however, Sterling will not be considered for tomorrow’s clash at Wembley but has remained with the national side ahead of the trip to face Kosovo on Sunday.

Despite Sterling’s punishment from England manager Gareth Southgate, Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi has praised his England teammate and admits Sterling has proved to be a role model for the teenager since his introduction into the senior international set-up.

“Someone like Raheem is like an idol to me. The position he plays, and what he’s doing for club and country, is an amazing thing, which I will try to replicate myself,” he said.

“It’s an amazing feeling to have someone like him doing what he’s doing and being around you every time. I want to keep learning off what he does.

“Raheem’s a very nice guy, very encouraging, very positive about everything he does. When I first came in, I didn’t expect him to be so nice.

“Of course, he’s a nice person but when you see somebody always welcoming you, just talking to you, giving you advice on how he plays and just being around you a lot, it makes you feel so welcome in the team.”

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