“He misses a bit of an opportunity to impress us”
Gareth Southgate believes that Callum Hudson-Odoi has ‘missed an opportunity’ by turning down an England Under-21 call-up.
The Chelsea winger has impressed for Thomas Tuchel’s side in recent weeks after somewhat of a slow start to the campaign, grabbing an assist in the Blues’ 1-0 win over Malmo in the Champions League in midweek.
Despite his good run of form, the 20-year-old wasn’t able to secure a place in Southgate’s England senior squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Albania and San Marino.
Hudson-Odoi was offered the chance to join-up with England Under-21s, but the youngster rejected the opportunity.
The Three Lions boss has since revealed that the youngster is working hard with Chelsea to force his way back into the senior squad.
“I had a good chat with Callum before last month’s get-together because it is difficult if you are a young player,” said Southgate.
“You’ve been with the senior team, he went back to play with the U21s in the last cycle and then to go again in a second cycle, I can understand is a difficult challenge.
“So we would still like him to do that but he wants to back himself with his Chelsea form to get back into the seniors and I totally respect that.
“So by not being in the Under-21s he misses a bit of an opportunity to impress us and come across if we need players for training and those sorts of things.”
Southgate has been impressed by Chilwell & Hudson-Odoi's performances 🔥 pic.twitter.com/FRTqwskuKh
— Chelsea FC News (@Chelsea_FL) November 4, 2021
Southgate also stated that it was ‘good’ to see Hudson-Odoi performing well and playing more regularly at first-team level.
He added: “He has had a couple of good matches for Chelsea. I know Thomas [Tuchel] is guarded about how much he goes with praise on that but it is good to see him back playing and playing more regularly at first-team level and he knows the challenge that’s ahead.
“But he knows also that we are constantly watching him and he is young and talented enough to mount a serious challenge as we move forward.”
Hudson-Odoi – who came through the ranks at Chelsea’s academy – has made 108 appearances for the Blues, registering 14 goals and 18 assists.
Tuchel’s men host Burnley on Saturday afternoon hoping to maintain their position at the top of the Premier League.
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