🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Callum Hudson-Odoi

[Pizy 18,918]

2 hours ago, Tomo said:

Cliche but I'll rather wait until he's had a proper run in the team before declaring that. I'd understand him not getting one if the other attackers are producing but despite everything he's still looked better than Pulisic with fewer chances.

The closest he's had to one is this Autumn and (finishing aside) he was excellent and unless you count the wingbacks as such our best attacker during our best run of form performance wise for quite a while.

His problem for sure is consistency. A problem that sadly all of our attackers have. But even at his best level in his best form I don’t think he offers enough at a club with title ambitions to be in the best XI. Almost never scores goals and is infuriatingly frustrating with his decision making  in the final third.

Like, for those wide positions I don’t think Cal’s best form is close to Pulisic’s or even Timo’s. Both of the latter can score and assist. As I mentioned in the match day thread the other day against Brighton, CHO is basically a poor imitation of Willian. Doesn’t score, doesn’t assist, runs around a lot, frustrates the hell out of us when he’s in the final third. But what Willian had that CHO doesn’t is the ability to consistently beat players 1v1 and drive into dangerous areas. 

 

[NikkiCFC 8,324]

5 hours ago, Jase said:

Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this stat but CHO has scored only 4 goals (FOUR!) in 71 Premier League games. 

But majority from the bench tho. He played minutes equal to 35 games. Still bad.

He's more of a creator.  10 open play PL assists in 3202 minutes.

Mount for example has 6 in 7112 minutes.

Edited January 21, 2022 by NikkiCFC

[Tomo 21,751]

I know he has to do it more consistently but today shows exactly why I am on his 'train' so to speak.

Ziyech's goal will get headlines but it was his quality that created the situation.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Tomo

[Beigl 1,387]

I agree with Tomo. We should not give up on him, even tough he is very frustrating to watch sometimes. There is certainly a player in him. 

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

He still has age and time on his side but it was apparent he needed to be told to take on a slower fullback tonight. With his experience he should know that himself 

just needs to get his confidence up. We need 1vs1 players and him to realize he is one 

[NikkiCFC 8,324]

 

[robsblubot 3,595]

Grealish lol
Pretty much interchangeable with any other player City already had in the final third.

Odoi's best season by far tho -- finally showing something we've expected from him.

Edited January 31, 2022 by robsblubot

[MoroccanBlue 5,382]

Hard to really believe those metrics considering he constantly fails the eye test. Frustrating and one dimensional 80% of the time. 

[robsblubot 3,595]

reminder he's 21 😉 

[LAM09 7,056]

1 minute ago, robsblubot said:

reminder he's 21 😉 

Similar tune was sung where RLC was concerned. What happened there?

[robsblubot 3,595]

1 hour ago, LAM09 said:

Similar tune was sung where RLC was concerned. What happened there?

I think 21-24 is the time footballers define how good they will be.

Seen players who looked like little Maradonas at 20 who turned into nothing, and players who were nothing at 20 and turned into excellent footballers.

My point is to not be so quick in affirming what a player will be at such an early stage. Scouts make a lot of money out of it and still get it wrong fairly often. We could get rid of him and then he pulls a Salah elsewhere.

[LAM09 7,056]

2 minutes ago, robsblubot said:

I think 21-24 is the time footballers define how good they will be.

Seen players who looked like little Maradonas at 20 who turned into nothing, and players who were nothing at 20 and turned into excellent footballers.

My point is to not be so quick in affirming what a player will be at such an early stage. Scouts make a lot of money out of it and still get it wrong fairly often. We could get rid of him and then he pulls a Salah elsewhere.

That's what buy-back clauses are for. Salah might have been raw, but he showed what he could do against us at the highest level at the same age.

CHO has been living off potential for some time, which even resulted in the club giving him a bumper contract. If he is still here come September, he has to drastically improve his end product should he have any desire to flourish at the top level.

[Milan 17,958]

What the hell happened to this guy? Has he broken his leg or what? I swear I cannot remember the last game he played for us. Not that he is a world beater, but still..

[Vesper 30,185]

1 minute ago, Milan said:

What the hell happened to this guy? Has he broken his leg or what? I swear I cannot remember the last game he played for us. Not that he is a world beater, but still..

Achilles

[DDA 9,941]

Got an assist on his debut. Well done lad. 👏 

[Vesper 30,185]

Hudson-Odoi in Germany: Catching the eye in the Champions League and as a No 10

https://theathletic.com/3614637/2022/09/22/callum-hudson-odoi-leverkusen/

 

 

It took all of five minutes for Callum Hudson-Odoi to produce a first flash of the quality that Chelsea supporters are hoping catches fire at Bayer Leverkusen this season.

Picking up the ball by the left touchline midway through the second half against Freiburg, the substitute cuts infield and digs out a cross that loops invitingly towards a pocket of space just outside the six-yard box. Patrik Schick backtracks to meet it, then powers a header back across goalkeeper Mark Flekken to make it 2-2.

Freiburg went on to win that game at the start of the month, compounding Leverkusen’s awful start to the Bundesliga season, but Hudson-Odoi’s contribution off the bench served notice that their embattled Swiss coach Gerardo Seoane does at least have a potent new attacking weapon at his disposal as he attempts to turn around his team’s fortunes.

 

Four days later, Hudson-Odoi was rewarded with his first Leverkusen start, away to Club Bruges in the Champions League, and only a VAR offside decision prevented him from conjuring a similar goal: another high, arcing cross with his right foot, this time hit from closer to the touchline, floats deep into the penalty area…

…over a sea of jostling bodies and touches down just inside the six-yard box, before bouncing back up and nestling into the far corner of the net. What’s the German for “corridor of uncertainty“?

Hudson-Odoi may not be able to say it in the native tongue of his temporary home but he certainly knows how to find it.

Seoane did not keep Hudson-Odoi on the left against Bruges, however. The Cobham graduate spent much of the evening operating more centrally as Leverkusen’s No 10. Part of his job was to take up intelligent positions behind the Bruges midfield to receive the ball (as in the move shown below), drive into the space ahead of him…

…and make the right decision when he got into the final third. Here, he looks up, recognises that Jeremie Frimpong is the open man in a crossing position on the right, and finds him.

That is a relatively straightforward sequence but Hudson-Odoi’s No 10 contributions in the next Champions League fixture against Atletico Madrid had a considerably higher degree of difficulty.

In the 84th minute, he drifts over to the right touchline to receive a pass from Frimpong and, having drawn four Atletico players towards him, immediately clips a return pass into the right channel for the Dutchman to chase.

Frimpong gets there and ultimately cuts the ball back to the edge of the box, where Robert Andrich fires into the far corner of the net.

Three minutes later, with Atletico pushing up in search of an equaliser, Hudson-Odoi receives the ball in his own half, well aware that Mario Hermoso is coming to pressure him, which vacates space to his right. He quickly jinks away into it, leaving the Spaniard trailing in his wake.

Leading the Leverkusen break, he once again picks the right moment to shift the ball into the path of Frimpong on his right…

…and the low cross that follows gives Moussa Diaby the chance to apply a clinical finish to Leverkusen’s rapid counter-attack, sealing a huge upset.

Hudson-Odoi’s ability to create danger from central areas and cutting in from the left has given Leverkusen’s attack fresh impetus in recent weeks.

“He helps us with his technique and agility, also that he can change his position during the game,” Seoane said of his new loan addition. “That is very valuable for us as a team.”

---

Hudson-Odoi’s positional versatility should not come as a surprise.

For much of his Chelsea youth career, the now 21-year-old considered himself primarily a No 10 and only moved out to the left flank for England’s Under-17 World Cup-winning campaign in 2017 once Jadon Sancho departed the tournament to return to Borussia Dortmund duties at the end of the group stage.

Neither role ever seemed particularly attainable for Hudson-Odoi at Chelsea, partly due to fierce competition from expensive attacking signings and partly due to the fact that previous head coach Thomas Tuchel quickly concluded that his value was limited to providing cover at right wing-back.

By the end of this summer, Hudson-Odoi felt as if he had gone stale at Chelsea — a feeling cemented by Tuchel’s decision to leave him out of the matchday squad for the Premier League opener against Everton without explanation.

Hudson-Odoi was proactive in canvassing other options and Leverkusen, boasting an impressive track record of developing young attacking talent sourced from their academy and elsewhere, immediately stood out among them.

Germany was always likely to be the destination, too.

Among those close to Hudson-Odoi, there is still the nagging question of how much closer to fulfilling his potential he would be now if he had joined Bayern Munich when they were keen three years ago, influenced by Sancho’s rapid rise to superstardom at Dortmund and also by the spectacular emergence of fellow Chelsea academy graduate Jamal Musiala at Bayern as the new golden boy of German football.

Leverkusen offered him the chance to make up for lost time in a league that has provided fertile ground for dynamic young attackers to blossom.

Hudson-Odoi’s early performances have underlined that he is well and truly over the bizarre nerve issue that curtailed last season, as well as reflecting just how seamlessly he has adapted to life in western Germany off the pitch.

Chelsea colleague Kai Havertz helped beyond giving previous club Leverkusen his seal of approval, making some initial dressing-room introductions. Hudson-Odoi has found a squad full of English speakers as well as natural friends in the forms of Frimpong and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, two other graduates of Premier League academies (Manchester’s City and United respectively) who share his Ghanaian family heritage. He is still taking German lessons, though, and is determined to assimilate as fully as he can.

Hudson-Odoi’s first five appearances in a struggling Leverkusen side have yielded only that one assist to Schick and zero goals, but the examples detailed above give a fuller picture of the threat he has carried in these early weeks.

The more significant statistic is that, since coming off the bench to make his debut in that loss to Freiburg, he has started four matches in a row across all competitions — a feat he only managed twice in five seasons back at Chelsea.

That, ultimately, is the point of joining Leverkusen on a season-long loan. “Regular football gives you consistency and the more games you play, the more consistent you become, the more form starts to kick in,” Hudson-Odoi said in an interview with the Mail on Sunday last week.

“You feel fresher, you feel better, you feel like… not that you’re getting treated fairly, but that you’ve got the trust from the manager to push you, and kick you on. You don’t want to be on the bench thinking, ‘Why am I not playing?’, and then it becomes weeks and weeks, and the legs are rusty when you do play.

“The most important thing is consistent football. That’s what I’m getting here and it’s making me feel better.”

[Tomo 21,751]

13 hours ago, Vesper said:

Hudson-Odoi in Germany: Catching the eye in the Champions League and as a No 10

https://theathletic.com/3614637/2022/09/22/callum-hudson-odoi-leverkusen/

 

 

It took all of five minutes for Callum Hudson-Odoi to produce a first flash of the quality that Chelsea supporters are hoping catches fire at Bayer Leverkusen this season.

Picking up the ball by the left touchline midway through the second half against Freiburg, the substitute cuts infield and digs out a cross that loops invitingly towards a pocket of space just outside the six-yard box. Patrik Schick backtracks to meet it, then powers a header back across goalkeeper Mark Flekken to make it 2-2.

Freiburg went on to win that game at the start of the month, compounding Leverkusen’s awful start to the Bundesliga season, but Hudson-Odoi’s contribution off the bench served notice that their embattled Swiss coach Gerardo Seoane does at least have a potent new attacking weapon at his disposal as he attempts to turn around his team’s fortunes.

 

Four days later, Hudson-Odoi was rewarded with his first Leverkusen start, away to Club Bruges in the Champions League, and only a VAR offside decision prevented him from conjuring a similar goal: another high, arcing cross with his right foot, this time hit from closer to the touchline, floats deep into the penalty area…

…over a sea of jostling bodies and touches down just inside the six-yard box, before bouncing back up and nestling into the far corner of the net. What’s the German for “corridor of uncertainty“?

Hudson-Odoi may not be able to say it in the native tongue of his temporary home but he certainly knows how to find it.

Seoane did not keep Hudson-Odoi on the left against Bruges, however. The Cobham graduate spent much of the evening operating more centrally as Leverkusen’s No 10. Part of his job was to take up intelligent positions behind the Bruges midfield to receive the ball (as in the move shown below), drive into the space ahead of him…

…and make the right decision when he got into the final third. Here, he looks up, recognises that Jeremie Frimpong is the open man in a crossing position on the right, and finds him.

That is a relatively straightforward sequence but Hudson-Odoi’s No 10 contributions in the next Champions League fixture against Atletico Madrid had a considerably higher degree of difficulty.

In the 84th minute, he drifts over to the right touchline to receive a pass from Frimpong and, having drawn four Atletico players towards him, immediately clips a return pass into the right channel for the Dutchman to chase.

Frimpong gets there and ultimately cuts the ball back to the edge of the box, where Robert Andrich fires into the far corner of the net.

Three minutes later, with Atletico pushing up in search of an equaliser, Hudson-Odoi receives the ball in his own half, well aware that Mario Hermoso is coming to pressure him, which vacates space to his right. He quickly jinks away into it, leaving the Spaniard trailing in his wake.

Leading the Leverkusen break, he once again picks the right moment to shift the ball into the path of Frimpong on his right…

…and the low cross that follows gives Moussa Diaby the chance to apply a clinical finish to Leverkusen’s rapid counter-attack, sealing a huge upset.

Hudson-Odoi’s ability to create danger from central areas and cutting in from the left has given Leverkusen’s attack fresh impetus in recent weeks.

“He helps us with his technique and agility, also that he can change his position during the game,” Seoane said of his new loan addition. “That is very valuable for us as a team.”

---

Hudson-Odoi’s positional versatility should not come as a surprise.

For much of his Chelsea youth career, the now 21-year-old considered himself primarily a No 10 and only moved out to the left flank for England’s Under-17 World Cup-winning campaign in 2017 once Jadon Sancho departed the tournament to return to Borussia Dortmund duties at the end of the group stage.

Neither role ever seemed particularly attainable for Hudson-Odoi at Chelsea, partly due to fierce competition from expensive attacking signings and partly due to the fact that previous head coach Thomas Tuchel quickly concluded that his value was limited to providing cover at right wing-back.

By the end of this summer, Hudson-Odoi felt as if he had gone stale at Chelsea — a feeling cemented by Tuchel’s decision to leave him out of the matchday squad for the Premier League opener against Everton without explanation.

Hudson-Odoi was proactive in canvassing other options and Leverkusen, boasting an impressive track record of developing young attacking talent sourced from their academy and elsewhere, immediately stood out among them.

Germany was always likely to be the destination, too.

Among those close to Hudson-Odoi, there is still the nagging question of how much closer to fulfilling his potential he would be now if he had joined Bayern Munich when they were keen three years ago, influenced by Sancho’s rapid rise to superstardom at Dortmund and also by the spectacular emergence of fellow Chelsea academy graduate Jamal Musiala at Bayern as the new golden boy of German football.

Leverkusen offered him the chance to make up for lost time in a league that has provided fertile ground for dynamic young attackers to blossom.

Hudson-Odoi’s early performances have underlined that he is well and truly over the bizarre nerve issue that curtailed last season, as well as reflecting just how seamlessly he has adapted to life in western Germany off the pitch.

Chelsea colleague Kai Havertz helped beyond giving previous club Leverkusen his seal of approval, making some initial dressing-room introductions. Hudson-Odoi has found a squad full of English speakers as well as natural friends in the forms of Frimpong and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, two other graduates of Premier League academies (Manchester’s City and United respectively) who share his Ghanaian family heritage. He is still taking German lessons, though, and is determined to assimilate as fully as he can.

Hudson-Odoi’s first five appearances in a struggling Leverkusen side have yielded only that one assist to Schick and zero goals, but the examples detailed above give a fuller picture of the threat he has carried in these early weeks.

The more significant statistic is that, since coming off the bench to make his debut in that loss to Freiburg, he has started four matches in a row across all competitions — a feat he only managed twice in five seasons back at Chelsea.

That, ultimately, is the point of joining Leverkusen on a season-long loan. “Regular football gives you consistency and the more games you play, the more consistent you become, the more form starts to kick in,” Hudson-Odoi said in an interview with the Mail on Sunday last week.

“You feel fresher, you feel better, you feel like… not that you’re getting treated fairly, but that you’ve got the trust from the manager to push you, and kick you on. You don’t want to be on the bench thinking, ‘Why am I not playing?’, and then it becomes weeks and weeks, and the legs are rusty when you do play.

“The most important thing is consistent football. That’s what I’m getting here and it’s making me feel better.”

t's unforgivable he's gone with Pulisic and Ziyech still here.

[Vesper 30,185]

2 hours ago, Tomo said:

t's unforgivable he's gone with Pulisic and Ziyech still here.

that's on Tuchel, to a point

what I hope is that CHO is chatting up Diaby (left-footed RWer, a real force) to come to Chels, lolol

[Tomo 21,751]

45 minutes ago, Vesper said:

that's on Tuchel, to a point

what I hope is that CHO is chatting up Diaby (left-footed RWer, a real force) to come to Chels, lolol

I'm worried with one year left on his deal next summer an impressive season in Germany could lead to Bayern saga 2.0.

Hopefully with his teammates from youth level here this time he won't get as close or worse.

[DDA 9,941]

After watching his performances  at Byern L.... sadly I think its safe to say, he is done at the highest level. 

That injury ruined his career. Soo frustrating to watch, knowing what he could have become.