BT Sport pundit Owen Hargreaves admits he finds it ‘bizarre’ that the Blues spent as much as £50million on the transfer of Christian Pulisic when they have Callum Hudson-Odoi.
The USA international will join from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, having officially already agreed a deal with Chelsea before returning to Dortmund on loan for the rest of this season.
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Pulisic has long been regarded as one of the most exciting young talents in the game, but Hargreaves is baffled at the west Londoners feeling the need to spend so much on a player who is no better than their own wonderkid forward Hudson-Odoi.
The 18-year-old came on for Chelsea against Dynamo Kiev in Thursday night’s Europa League clash and scored a fine goal to make it 3-0, showing his talent once again in limited playing time.
Hargreaves is a big fan and laid into Chelsea’s decision to spend big on Pulisic in this context.
‘I love him [Hudson-Odoi]. Just look at what he has achieved at the age of 18,’ Hargreaves said, as quoted by the Metro.
‘Every time he plays he affects the game and makes things happen. The only problem is Willian and Pedro are producing as well.
‘But every time he plays he looks ready. He needs more games. If he doesn’t get them he should go elsewhere.
‘The problem is they’ve just spent £50m on Pulisic. What’s the point of that? You can’t tell me he’s a better player than Callum. Not in a million years! It’s bizarre.’
The pundit certainly has a point, especially considering CFC’s history of favouring big-money and big-name signings over promoting from within.
Hudson-Odoi looks like a player with a big future and the fans at Stamford Bridge would surely love to see more homegrown talents like him coming through.