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Chelsea’s Maurizio Sarri believes Alvaro Morata showed he had improved dramatically since their match against Perth Glory after a fine display in their win over Inter Milan.
DUBLIN, Republic of Ireland — Maurizio Sarri revealed he will hold talks with Willian after admitting that he is “not happy” with the Brazilian’s late return to Chelsea’s preseason training as a result of a passport issue.
Willian flew back to London on Tuesday evening and trained alone at Cobham on Wednesday afternoon, six days after he was expected to report following an extended post-World Cup break, making him unavailable for Chelsea’s third preseason match against Arsenal at the Aviva Stadium.
Sources told ESPN Brasil that the reason for the Willian’s delay was the need to renew his passport, and Chelsea as a club do not have any immediate concerns about his attitude in the final days of a summer in which Barcelona, Manchester United and Real Madrid have all been linked with signing him.
Speaking after Arsenal’s penalty-shootout victory over Chelsea, Sarri said he finds the finds the situation unusual but added that he wants to discuss it with Willian directly before forming a definitive judgement.
“I want to speak to him before I answer these questions,” Sarri said. “I want to speak to him. I am not happy about this situation but before I answer, I would like to speak to him.”
Asked if he found Willian’s reason for returning late strange, Sarri replied: “I think so.”
Sarri was also unwilling to be drawn on the futures of Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois, who are both the subject of significant interest from Real Madrid as they enjoy their own extended breaks after the World Cup.
“I will see them on Saturday for the first time, so I don’t know the situation in this moment,” he insisted. “There is no news.”
Of the players available to Sarri in Dublin, academy youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi did the most to catch the eye of his new head coach, tormenting Hector Bellerin and creating several chances for a wasteful Alvaro Morata as well as having an effort of his own cleared off the line.
Chelsea supporters are keen to see Hudson-Odoi given a first-team opportunity when the Premier League season begins, and Sarri confirmed that the 17-year-old will not be leaving Stamford Bridge on loan.
“Hudson-Odoi is a very young player,” he added. “We have to wait. In the future he will be a very, very strong player for sure.”
Asked if Hudson-Odoi would remain part of his first-team squad, the Italian replied: “I think so. He will stay with us for all the season.”
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