Blocking Callum Hudson-Odoi's loan move was easy decision for me, reveals Thomas Tuchel
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed that it was simply impossible to let go of Callum Hudson-Odoi to leave on the summer transfer window's deadline day. Despite the 20-year-old making just one league appearance so far, the London side blocked a two year loan move from Borussia Dortmund.
Callum Hudson Odoi emerged as one of the hottest prospects in English football when he made his debut for Chelsea at the age just 17 but with game-time coming sporadically, the young winger was heavily touted to leave for Bayern Munich. But things changed as increased game time and the trust placed in him, by former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard, convinced the 20-year-old to commit his future with Chelsea instead, signing a new contract with the club.
Since then, the attacker has gone onto make 100 appearances for the London side while scoring 13 goals and 16 assists so far across all competitions but all that has still come at sporadic game-time with the England international unable to secure a place in the starting XI under previous managers. That hasn't changed under current boss Thomas Tuchel as Hudson-Odoi only started 10 of the 23 matches in which he played the previous campaign.
However, with Borussia Dortmund keen on signing the 20-year-old on loan this summer, Chelsea rejected the bid twice, including one on deadline day, and Tuchel acknowledged that while a switch to Germany would have been good for Hudson-Odoi's development, there was no chance he would have let him depart so late into the window.
“We have spoken. It was a very easy decision for me to make on the last day of the transfer period. We cannot let a player go who is in the 18/19 man squad. He is able to play as a right wing-back, a left wing-back, in the two number 10 positions. He know the group, we know him very well. There was no chance to say yes on the last day,” Tuchel told reporters in his post match press conference.
“For him personally it may have been a good opportunity but for us and our targets that we want to achieve, it was simply impossible. It was an easy one for me actually,” he added.
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