Gianfranco Zola has defended Maurizio Sarri’s limited use of Callum Hudson-Odoi for Chelsea this season. England Under-19 international Hudson-Odoi is yet to start a Premier League game for the Blues this term and he has made just two substitute appearances since a failed January move to Bayern Munich.
The Bavarians had three offers rejected for the forward, the last believed to be worth around £35million, and there are huge doubts regarding the 18-year-old’s long-term future at Stamford Bridge.
Sarri has started to come under criticism from supporters for not using Hudson-Odoi enough this term but Zola, who returned to Stamford Bridge as assistant manager last summer, has backed the boss. “I disagree on that,” he said.
“He’s always on the edge of the team. As soon as there is an opportunity, he plays. Sometimes from the beginning. Sometimes he comes on. “The manager is giving him plenty of reasons to feel involved and wanted.
I want to stress this out: there aren’t many 18-year-old’s in Europe playing as many games as he is. There might be one or two. “He’s playing. And, on top of that, he’s a player we appreciate and we believe is growing up.
He has a bright future in this club. Maurizio likes… the whole coaching group like him. “Please, you need to understand that he’s surrounded by top players. You have to work hard to be better than them, and that’s what we want.
We want him to play but also keep improving. He can still do better than he’s doing.”
