Blues boosted as winger decides to stay at Chelsea

Few managers in Premier League history have had quite the impact that Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has managed in just six months. 

The German arrived in SW6 in January with the club 8th in the Premier League and flirting with the prospect of failure to qualify for any European competition next season.

With the decision to sack club legend Frank Lampard having gone down very badly with the vast majority of Blues fans, Tuchel needed to impress to gain the support of the Stamford Bridge faithful, and the former Paris Saint-Germain boss duly delivered.

Tuchel oversaw a remarkable 17 clean sheets in his first 21 games, and ultimately guided the club to the finals of both the FA Cup and the Champions League, winning the latter for the second time in the club’s history.

Since the Champions League triumph, expectation has grown ahead of next season as fans watch keenly to see if Tuchel can maintain his success.

Talk of potential signings at Stamford Bridge has reached fever pitch, with the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Harry Kane and Erling Braut Haaland all heavily linked with a switch to the European champions.

Now, it appears that there may be more good news for Blues fans.

According to The Athletic, winger Callum Hudson-Odoi is now set to stay at the club and fight for his place next term.

The 20-year-old found his chances limited last season, particularly after the arrival of Tuchel, and had been heavily linked with a move to Bundesliga side Bayern Munich, however it appears that this has now changed.

The report states that Hudson-Odoi is in Tuchel’s plans, and suggests that he must now deliver next season when given the opportunity.

Hudson-Odoi is one of several Chelsea academy graduates to establish himself in the senior squad in recent seasons.

With several of Chelsea’s first team squad being granted extended leave after appearing at Euro 2020, Hudson-Odoi may seize the opportunity to impress during pre-season and could be called upon during the first few games of the season.

It is reported that the youngster has rejected the advances of Bayern, and instead made it clear that he wishes to compete for a starting spot next season at Chelsea.

Initially, Hudson-Odoi featured regularly under Tuchel, starting in all of the German’s first three games in charge, however his game time soon reduced and he ended the season having played just 172 minutes in the final 16 games.

Now, the Englishman may be given a better chance than ever to prove his worth to Tuchel and establish himself as a first team regular.