With Jorginho not starting against Malmo, the FC guys explain how Maurizio Sarri missed the perfect opportunity to play N’Golo Kante in his preferred position.
LONDON — Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri has said the club will have to sell a winger in the summer if Callum Hudson-Odoi is to get more first-team opportunities.
Hudson-Odoi marked his first start since the close of the January transfer window with a goal in Thursday’s 3-0 Europa League win over Malmo, prompting the Stamford Bridge crowd to serenade the 18-year-old with chants of: “We want you to stay.”
Sources have told ESPN FC that Hudson-Odoi — yet to start a Premier League game under Sarri — does not intend to sign a new contract despite being denied a move to Bayern Munich last month.
Speaking after the Malmo game, Sarri said one of Eden Hazard, Willian or Pedro would have to leave for Hudson-Odoi to feature more next season, particularly in view of Christian Pulisic‘s imminent arrival from Borussia Dortmund.
“I think he played very well,” Sarri said of Hudson-Odoi. “But I think, also, that [Andreas] Christensen played very well, Emerson played very well. So I’m really very happy with these three players. I think that, at the moment, they are ready to play with consistency.”
Asked what Hudson-Odoi needed to do to start a Premier League game, the coach said: “You need to understand that, in the same position, we have Pedro, Willian and Hazard. So it’s not easy for a young player to play with the consistency of his teammates.
“I want to remind you that Callum played 14 matches. There isn’t, in England, another 18-year-old player with 14 matches in the first-team, so I think that we are using him in the right way at the moment.
“Of course, the 20 matches this season will be 30 matches in the next, and 40 in two years.
“Also, I think that the club has to decide. If I am at the club and I want Callum on the team consistently, I have to sell another winger.”
Hazard, Willian and Pedro all enter the final year of their contracts this summer, with Hazard having been strongly linked with Real Madrid.
On Friday, FIFA banned Chelsea from signing players for two transfer windows after finding them guilty of breaching regulations related to the signing of players under 18.
The club have said they will appeal and have the right to take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if necessary.
Be the first to comment