When Thomas Tuchel announced his first Chelsea roster, for a younger experience, a selection emerged.
The German chose to play 20-year-old winger Callum Hudson-Odoi as a right-back, and after a fucking impressive performance against Wolves, Tuchel stuck to his guns and kept Hudson-Odoi in this role for 2- Sunday. 0 victory over Burnley.
It says a lot about Hudson-Odoi’s ability that Tuchel has already shown him such a commitment in his Chelsea career. No academy player has played more than him so far and it is clear that the youngster is relishing the chance to play under the guidance of a coach who has nothing but confidence in him.
Hudson-Odoi was absolutely all over the place against Burnley, bombarding the right wing from top to bottom and wreaking havoc with his desire to run against defenders and his willingness to enter the box.
It was such a good performance that Burnley’s Robbie Brady tore his hair out, yelling at Sean Dyche (via Liam twomey): “I know where the fuck he is, I can’t stop him. What do you want me to do?”
Tuchel’s impact on Hudson-Odoi is already clear and should make Chelsea fans drool over what the future holds.
Throughout Tuchel’s managerial career, you can look back and find a handful of young players who have directly benefited from his tutelage.
In Mainz there was Andre Schurrle who, at 19, scored 15 goals in the 2010/11 Bundesliga season to earn a stint at Bayer Leverkusen, where his numbers fell without Tuchel’s influence.
Christian Pulisic was the man who took advantage of it at Borussia Dortmund. The young American made his debut through Tuchel and was on his way to becoming a superstar when Tuchel joined PSG, where he met a young man named Kylian Mbappe.
Schurrle will meet again with Tuchel, el hombre que lo debutó in 2009 and the irremovable hizo in el Mainz. pic.twitter.com/0RVItvhDxt
– El 9 and Medio (@ el9ymedio) July 22, 2016
Mbappe scored 13 goals and seven assists in his debut season in Paris, but after Tuchel’s arrival he shot up to 33 and nine assists in just one extra game. He obviously can’t take all the credit for Mbappe’s rise to power, but the results of the couple’s work speak for themselves.
In each of his former clubs, Tuchel came in and set his sights on a young prodigy, and he worked tirelessly to make them superstars. Chelsea have clearly admired his work for a long time, having signed both Schurrle and Pulisic, but they won’t have to pay extra for this next one.
Hudson-Odoi looks set for a breakout season under Tuchel, who takes the development of his players personally. He doesn’t pull any punches and knows how to squeeze the best performances out of young players, and among all the academy gems Chelsea have to offer, it’s Hudson-Odoi who has risen to the top of the pecking order.
The England international appears to have regained full confidence in his physical strength after his terrible ACL injury, and Tuchel has clearly already helped him rediscover faith in his talent with the ball.
Signs of the pair’s budding relationship have been exciting so far, and we’re only two games away. For Hudson-Odoi and Chelsea, the future looks incredibly bright.
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