Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi admits he didn’t enjoy playing as a wing-back under previous Blues manager Thomas Tuchel.
The England international is now out on loan at Bayer Leverkusen this season, and it seems he’s enjoying the chance to play in a more attacking role with the Bundesliga club.
However, Hudson-Odoi didn’t get much playing time under Tuchel at Chelsea, and when he did he was often used out of position as a wing-back.
Chelsea fans will now hope to see their young wide man develop as an attacking player in his time in Germany, and it will be interesting to see if Tuchel’s replacement Graham Potter will take the player’s words on board and use him up front when he returns to Stamford Bridge.
Discussing his struggles under Tuchel with The Athletic, Hudson-Odoi said: “(I was) definitely not (a wing-back). At times, it was okay. But sometimes in my head, I’m thinking, ‘What am I doing, why am I in this position? I’m more defending than attacking’.
“No matter where I was playing, I was always trying to do my best and help the team — it’s not always about myself. I never argued; I just got on with it. But in order to get the best out of yourself, you have to play where you can feel most comfortable and do what you can do best.”
He added: “I would never bad mouth or say anything bad about him. He was always a good guy, a good man, on the pitch and off the pitch. It was just… with so many great players in the team, you have to obviously fight for your position and work your hardest. It was definitely difficult at times with him but you have to get on with it and do what you can.”
Chelsea will need to be careful with this talented young player, as they’ve often lost top talent without ever giving them a proper chance.
We’ve seen that recently with Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori, who are flourishing in Serie A with Roma and AC Milan, respectively, while in the past they also let Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah go before the pair ended up becoming world class performers for two of their biggest rivals.