As reported by Evening Standard, Frank Lampard has hinted that Callum Hudson-Odoi could be in contention to return to the pitch following a long-injury layoff. “I spoke with him this morning. He’s not far off. In between, if players, if Callum, shows this week how good he is in training I’ll have to consider him probably from now on.”, said the Chelsea manager following Saturday’s victory over Wolves.
The return of Hudson-Odoi will, no doubt, be a massive boost for the Blues. But, is he a better attacking option than Willian and Christian Pulisic?
Pulisic & Willian’s season so far
Pulisic came into this new season, having a lot of potential and expectations were sky high on the American international. But, just like last season at Borussia Dortmund, the winger has failed to provide anything substantial to the table for his side going forward.
He had a poor Premier League debut against Manchester United, though a promising display versus Liverpool followed it. Overall, the 20-year-old has registered only one assist in four games. He was notably left out on the bench in the last match against Wolves, which Chelsea won 5-2.
Willian, meanwhile, has struggled to receive regular game-time under Lampard so far. He has mustered only 145 minutes of league football, much of which came from the Wolves game. The Brazilian failed to create anything of note in the final, despite Chelsea’s emphatic win.
Is Hudson-Odoi the better option?
With both Willian and Pulisic failing to provide the attacking impetus, Hudson-Odoi is undoubtedly Chelsea’s best bet as they look to find inspiration in attack from the wider areas of the pitch. The main problem behind the struggles of the current Chelsea wingers is that they haven’t been involved much.
Hudson-Odoi could change that with his willingness to get onto the ball and take on defenders in the final third. Although there are no guarantees that the youngster will succeed, his pace, coupled with his ability to shrug off defenders is tailor-made for the physically astute and fast-paced nature of the Premier League.
Will the Hudson-Odoi and Pulisic partnership work for Chelsea?
Hudson-Odoi is, without a doubt, a better option than Willian on the left-wing slot. But, Chelsea can only hope that the return of Hudson-Odoi coincides with the return of form for Pulisic, who operates on the right flank.
Both of them are young and are brimming with technical quality, which means they might connect well, especially with another youngster in the form of Tammy Abraham playing as a number nine.
All in all, Chelsea fans will at least have something to get excited about when Hudson-Odoi makes his return to the pitch, hopefully within this week. It is, however, unlikely that he will feature against Valencia on Tuesday.
