Looked decent last night against Atletico. 

He has a totally different role at Dortmund. He plays in the center and not on the wing. 

Unless we get a new winger in January i hope we recall him then if we have the option. It's unforgivable he's gone with Pulisic and Ziyech still here.

28 minutes ago, Night-T said:

He has a totally different role at Dortmund. He plays in the center and not on the wing. 

He does? That is very nice of Bayer to let the player we loaned them play for Dortmund as well... 🙂

10 hours ago, axman2526 said:

He does? That is very nice of Bayer to let the player we loaned them play for Dortmund as well... 🙂

Bayer off course. 
They are neighbours.

So it is a quick pit stop  😅

11 hours ago, Argo said:

Unless we get a new winger in January i hope we recall him then if we have the option. It's unforgivable he's gone with Pulisic and Ziyech still here.

Might work out better in the long run. 

12 hours ago, Argo said:

Unless we get a new winger in January i hope we recall him then if we have the option. It's unforgivable he's gone with Pulisic and Ziyech still here.

I bet Potter would of loved the chance to work with Callum, this is why the manager swap should of happened in the summer, Callum would of got carte blanche from Potter.

12 hours ago, Argo said:

Unless we get a new winger in January i hope we recall him then if we have the option. It's unforgivable he's gone with Pulisic and Ziyech still here.

I'm honestly astonished Pulisic and Ziyech are still here.

£300m spent on an already very expensively assembled squad and we still have arguably the 2 worst right wingers in the entire league getting minutes for us.

It's absolutely horrifying.

3 hours ago, bisright1 said:

Might work out better in the long run. 

Possibly, but for me I find it frustrating as he has big chemistry with James and he's the perfect balance to Sterling.

I'll be the first to admit his finishing is woeful but with Raheem and Auba here now we don't exactly need elite goal figures.

2 hours ago, HazardousChoice said:

I'm honestly astonished Pulisic and Ziyech are still here.

£300m spent on an already very expensively assembled squad and we still have arguably the 2 worst right wingers in the entire league getting minutes for us.

It's absolutely horrifying.

Ziyech I can atleast have somewhat hope that he can maybe give us a month of productivity like he did in January/February last year but I've long given up on any consistency from him.

Pulisic on the other hand, the eye test and metrics both make for brutual assessment.

3 hours ago, HazardousChoice said:

I'm honestly astonished Pulisic and Ziyech are still here.

£300m spent on an already very expensively assembled squad and we still have arguably the 2 worst right wingers in the entire league getting minutes for us.

It's absolutely horrifying.

Hudson Odoi and Werner were arguably our best wingers when match fit. Werner especially could have filled in as ST with how terrible Havertz is playing. It's a shame we let them both go.

 

I think the Hudson Odoi loan will be great for him in the long term though. His development has been massively stagnated from not getting a full season of first team football (alongside his injuries). He's arguably the best 17 year old I've ever seen play for Chelsea, there's a reason Bayern wanted him. Even with the drop in pace he can still become a world class winger.

Athleti article, sounds like a great loan for him

 

It took all of five minutes for Callum Hudson-Odoi to produce a first flash of the quality that Chelsea supporters are hoping catches fire at Bayer Leverkusen this season.

Picking up the ball by the left touchline midway through the second half against Freiburg, the substitute cuts infield and digs out a cross that loops invitingly towards a pocket of space just outside the six-yard box. Patrik Schick backtracks to meet it, then powers a header back across goalkeeper Mark Flekken to make it 2-2.

Freiburg went on to win that game at the start of the month, compounding Leverkusen’s awful start to the Bundesliga season, but Hudson-Odoi’s contribution off the bench served notice that their embattled Swiss coach Gerardo Seoane does at least have a potent new attacking weapon at his disposal as he attempts to turn around his team’s fortunes.

Four days later, Hudson-Odoi was rewarded with his first Leverkusen start, away to Club Bruges in the Champions League, and only a VAR offside decision prevented him from conjuring a similar goal: another high, arcing cross with his right foot, this time hit from closer to the touchline, floats deep into the penalty area…

…over a sea of jostling bodies and touches down just inside the six-yard box, before bouncing back up and nestling into the far corner of the net. What’s the German for “corridor of uncertainty“?

Hudson-Odoi may not be able to say it in the native tongue of his temporary home but he certainly knows how to find it.

Seoane did not keep Hudson-Odoi on the left against Bruges, however. The Cobham graduate spent much of the evening operating more centrally as Leverkusen’s No 10. Part of his job was to take up intelligent positions behind the Bruges midfield to receive the ball (as in the move shown below), drive into the space ahead of him…

…and make the right decision when he got into the final third. Here, he looks up, recognises that Jeremie Frimpong is the open man in a crossing position on the right, and finds him.

That is a relatively straightforward sequence but Hudson-Odoi’s No 10 contributions in the next Champions League fixture against Atletico Madrid had a considerably higher degree of difficulty.

In the 84th minute, he drifts over to the right touchline to receive a pass from Frimpong and, having drawn four Atletico players towards him, immediately clips a return pass into the right channel for the Dutchman to chase.

Frimpong gets there and ultimately cuts the ball back to the edge of the box, where Robert Andrich fires into the far corner of the net.

Three minutes later, with Atletico pushing up in search of an equaliser, Hudson-Odoi receives the ball in his own half, well aware that Mario Hermoso is coming to pressure him, which vacates space to his right. He quickly jinks away into it, leaving the Spaniard trailing in his wake.

Leading the Leverkusen break, he once again picks the right moment to shift the ball into the path of Frimpong on his right…

…and the low cross that follows gives Moussa Diaby the chance to apply a clinical finish to Leverkusen’s rapid counter-attack, sealing a huge upset.

Hudson-Odoi’s ability to create danger from central areas and cutting in from the left has given Leverkusen’s attack fresh impetus in recent weeks.

“He helps us with his technique and agility, also that he can change his position during the game,” Seoane said of his new loan addition. “That is very valuable for us as a team.”

---

Hudson-Odoi’s positional versatility should not come as a surprise.

For much of his Chelsea youth career, the now 21-year-old considered himself primarily a No 10 and only moved out to the left flank for England’s Under-17 World Cup-winning campaign in 2017 once Jadon Sancho departed the tournament to return to Borussia Dortmund duties at the end of the group stage.

Neither role ever seemed particularly attainable for Hudson-Odoi at Chelsea, partly due to fierce competition from expensive attacking signings and partly due to the fact that previous head coach Thomas Tuchel quickly concluded that his value was limited to providing cover at right wing-back.

By the end of this summer, Hudson-Odoi felt as if he had gone stale at Chelsea — a feeling cemented by Tuchel’s decision to leave him out of the matchday squad for the Premier League opener against Everton without explanation.

Hudson-Odoi was proactive in canvassing other options and Leverkusen, boasting an impressive track record of developing young attacking talent sourced from their academy and elsewhere, immediately stood out among them.

Germany was always likely to be the destination, too.

Among those close to Hudson-Odoi, there is still the nagging question of how much closer to fulfilling his potential he would be now if he had joined Bayern Munich when they were keen three years ago, influenced by Sancho’s rapid rise to superstardom at Dortmund and also by the spectacular emergence of fellow Chelsea academy graduate Jamal Musiala at Bayern as the new golden boy of German football.

Leverkusen offered him the chance to make up for lost time in a league that has provided fertile ground for dynamic young attackers to blossom.

Hudson-Odoi’s early performances have underlined that he is well and truly over the bizarre nerve issue that curtailed last season, as well as reflecting just how seamlessly he has adapted to life in western Germany off the pitch.

Chelsea colleague Kai Havertz helped beyond giving previous club Leverkusen his seal of approval, making some initial dressing-room introductions. Hudson-Odoi has found a squad full of English speakers as well as natural friends in the forms of Frimpong and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, two other graduates of Premier League academies (Manchester’s City and United respectively) who share his Ghanaian family heritage. He is still taking German lessons, though, and is determined to assimilate as fully as he can

Hudson-Odoi’s first five appearances in a struggling Leverkusen side have yielded only that one assist to Schick and zero goals, but the examples detailed above give a fuller picture of the threat he has carried in these early weeks.

The more significant statistic is that, since coming off the bench to make his debut in that loss to Freiburg, he has started four matches in a row across all competitions — a feat he only managed twice in five seasons back at Chelsea.

That, ultimately, is the point of joining Leverkusen on a season-long loan. “Regular football gives you consistency and the more games you play, the more consistent you become, the more form starts to kick in,” Hudson-Odoi said in an interview with the Mail on Sunday last week.

“You feel fresher, you feel better, you feel like… not that you’re getting treated fairly, but that you’ve got the trust from the manager to push you, and kick you on. You don’t want to be on the bench thinking, ‘Why am I not playing?’, and then it becomes weeks and weeks, and the legs are rusty when you do play.

“The most important thing is consistent football. That’s what I’m getting here and it’s making me feel better.”

(Top photo: Rene Nijhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images) 

2 hours ago, bisright1 said:

Athleti article, sounds like a great loan for him

 

It took all of five minutes for Callum Hudson-Odoi to produce a first flash of the quality that Chelsea supporters are hoping catches fire at Bayer Leverkusen this season.

Picking up the ball by the left touchline midway through the second half against Freiburg, the substitute cuts infield and digs out a cross that loops invitingly towards a pocket of space just outside the six-yard box. Patrik Schick backtracks to meet it, then powers a header back across goalkeeper Mark Flekken to make it 2-2.

Freiburg went on to win that game at the start of the month, compounding Leverkusen’s awful start to the Bundesliga season, but Hudson-Odoi’s contribution off the bench served notice that their embattled Swiss coach Gerardo Seoane does at least have a potent new attacking weapon at his disposal as he attempts to turn around his team’s fortunes.

Four days later, Hudson-Odoi was rewarded with his first Leverkusen start, away to Club Bruges in the Champions League, and only a VAR offside decision prevented him from conjuring a similar goal: another high, arcing cross with his right foot, this time hit from closer to the touchline, floats deep into the penalty area…

…over a sea of jostling bodies and touches down just inside the six-yard box, before bouncing back up and nestling into the far corner of the net. What’s the German for “corridor of uncertainty“?

Hudson-Odoi may not be able to say it in the native tongue of his temporary home but he certainly knows how to find it.

Seoane did not keep Hudson-Odoi on the left against Bruges, however. The Cobham graduate spent much of the evening operating more centrally as Leverkusen’s No 10. Part of his job was to take up intelligent positions behind the Bruges midfield to receive the ball (as in the move shown below), drive into the space ahead of him…

…and make the right decision when he got into the final third. Here, he looks up, recognises that Jeremie Frimpong is the open man in a crossing position on the right, and finds him.

That is a relatively straightforward sequence but Hudson-Odoi’s No 10 contributions in the next Champions League fixture against Atletico Madrid had a considerably higher degree of difficulty.

In the 84th minute, he drifts over to the right touchline to receive a pass from Frimpong and, having drawn four Atletico players towards him, immediately clips a return pass into the right channel for the Dutchman to chase.

Frimpong gets there and ultimately cuts the ball back to the edge of the box, where Robert Andrich fires into the far corner of the net.

Three minutes later, with Atletico pushing up in search of an equaliser, Hudson-Odoi receives the ball in his own half, well aware that Mario Hermoso is coming to pressure him, which vacates space to his right. He quickly jinks away into it, leaving the Spaniard trailing in his wake.

Leading the Leverkusen break, he once again picks the right moment to shift the ball into the path of Frimpong on his right…

…and the low cross that follows gives Moussa Diaby the chance to apply a clinical finish to Leverkusen’s rapid counter-attack, sealing a huge upset.

Hudson-Odoi’s ability to create danger from central areas and cutting in from the left has given Leverkusen’s attack fresh impetus in recent weeks.

“He helps us with his technique and agility, also that he can change his position during the game,” Seoane said of his new loan addition. “That is very valuable for us as a team.”

---

Hudson-Odoi’s positional versatility should not come as a surprise.

For much of his Chelsea youth career, the now 21-year-old considered himself primarily a No 10 and only moved out to the left flank for England’s Under-17 World Cup-winning campaign in 2017 once Jadon Sancho departed the tournament to return to Borussia Dortmund duties at the end of the group stage.

Neither role ever seemed particularly attainable for Hudson-Odoi at Chelsea, partly due to fierce competition from expensive attacking signings and partly due to the fact that previous head coach Thomas Tuchel quickly concluded that his value was limited to providing cover at right wing-back.

By the end of this summer, Hudson-Odoi felt as if he had gone stale at Chelsea — a feeling cemented by Tuchel’s decision to leave him out of the matchday squad for the Premier League opener against Everton without explanation.

Hudson-Odoi was proactive in canvassing other options and Leverkusen, boasting an impressive track record of developing young attacking talent sourced from their academy and elsewhere, immediately stood out among them.

Germany was always likely to be the destination, too.

Among those close to Hudson-Odoi, there is still the nagging question of how much closer to fulfilling his potential he would be now if he had joined Bayern Munich when they were keen three years ago, influenced by Sancho’s rapid rise to superstardom at Dortmund and also by the spectacular emergence of fellow Chelsea academy graduate Jamal Musiala at Bayern as the new golden boy of German football.

Leverkusen offered him the chance to make up for lost time in a league that has provided fertile ground for dynamic young attackers to blossom.

Hudson-Odoi’s early performances have underlined that he is well and truly over the bizarre nerve issue that curtailed last season, as well as reflecting just how seamlessly he has adapted to life in western Germany off the pitch.

Chelsea colleague Kai Havertz helped beyond giving previous club Leverkusen his seal of approval, making some initial dressing-room introductions. Hudson-Odoi has found a squad full of English speakers as well as natural friends in the forms of Frimpong and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, two other graduates of Premier League academies (Manchester’s City and United respectively) who share his Ghanaian family heritage. He is still taking German lessons, though, and is determined to assimilate as fully as he can

Hudson-Odoi’s first five appearances in a struggling Leverkusen side have yielded only that one assist to Schick and zero goals, but the examples detailed above give a fuller picture of the threat he has carried in these early weeks.

The more significant statistic is that, since coming off the bench to make his debut in that loss to Freiburg, he has started four matches in a row across all competitions — a feat he only managed twice in five seasons back at Chelsea.

That, ultimately, is the point of joining Leverkusen on a season-long loan. “Regular football gives you consistency and the more games you play, the more consistent you become, the more form starts to kick in,” Hudson-Odoi said in an interview with the Mail on Sunday last week.

“You feel fresher, you feel better, you feel like… not that you’re getting treated fairly, but that you’ve got the trust from the manager to push you, and kick you on. You don’t want to be on the bench thinking, ‘Why am I not playing?’, and then it becomes weeks and weeks, and the legs are rusty when you do play.

“The most important thing is consistent football. That’s what I’m getting here and it’s making me feel better.”

(Top photo: Rene Nijhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images) 

I've literally been screaming about the type of mature decision making highlighted in the above photos for years. It's not a new thing for him and he wasn't 3rd ITL on key passes and big chances created (per 90) by accident.

Meanwhile we have captain America coming on waving white flags and it's apparently everyones fault but his.

I still say give him the entire season at Bayer. 

1 hour ago, Argo said:

I've literally been screaming about the type of mature decision making highlighted in the above photos for years. It's not a new thing for him and he wasn't 3rd ITL on key passes and big chances created (per 90) by accident.

Meanwhile we have captain America coming on waving white flags and it's apparently everyones fault but his.

Apparently Potter is a big fan and wanted him at Brighton as part of th3 Cucurella deal, but Cal chose Bayer.

1 minute ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I still say give him the entire season at Bayer. 

Me too. He needs it.

4 hours ago, bisright1 said:

Athleti article, sounds like a great loan for him

 

It took all of five minutes for Callum Hudson-Odoi to produce a first flash of the quality that Chelsea supporters are hoping catches fire at Bayer Leverkusen this season.

Picking up the ball by the left touchline midway through the second half against Freiburg, the substitute cuts infield and digs out a cross that loops invitingly towards a pocket of space just outside the six-yard box. Patrik Schick backtracks to meet it, then powers a header back across goalkeeper Mark Flekken to make it 2-2.

Freiburg went on to win that game at the start of the month, compounding Leverkusen’s awful start to the Bundesliga season, but Hudson-Odoi’s contribution off the bench served notice that their embattled Swiss coach Gerardo Seoane does at least have a potent new attacking weapon at his disposal as he attempts to turn around his team’s fortunes.

Four days later, Hudson-Odoi was rewarded with his first Leverkusen start, away to Club Bruges in the Champions League, and only a VAR offside decision prevented him from conjuring a similar goal: another high, arcing cross with his right foot, this time hit from closer to the touchline, floats deep into the penalty area…

…over a sea of jostling bodies and touches down just inside the six-yard box, before bouncing back up and nestling into the far corner of the net. What’s the German for “corridor of uncertainty“?

Hudson-Odoi may not be able to say it in the native tongue of his temporary home but he certainly knows how to find it.

Seoane did not keep Hudson-Odoi on the left against Bruges, however. The Cobham graduate spent much of the evening operating more centrally as Leverkusen’s No 10. Part of his job was to take up intelligent positions behind the Bruges midfield to receive the ball (as in the move shown below), drive into the space ahead of him…

…and make the right decision when he got into the final third. Here, he looks up, recognises that Jeremie Frimpong is the open man in a crossing position on the right, and finds him.

That is a relatively straightforward sequence but Hudson-Odoi’s No 10 contributions in the next Champions League fixture against Atletico Madrid had a considerably higher degree of difficulty.

In the 84th minute, he drifts over to the right touchline to receive a pass from Frimpong and, having drawn four Atletico players towards him, immediately clips a return pass into the right channel for the Dutchman to chase.

Frimpong gets there and ultimately cuts the ball back to the edge of the box, where Robert Andrich fires into the far corner of the net.

Three minutes later, with Atletico pushing up in search of an equaliser, Hudson-Odoi receives the ball in his own half, well aware that Mario Hermoso is coming to pressure him, which vacates space to his right. He quickly jinks away into it, leaving the Spaniard trailing in his wake.

Leading the Leverkusen break, he once again picks the right moment to shift the ball into the path of Frimpong on his right…

…and the low cross that follows gives Moussa Diaby the chance to apply a clinical finish to Leverkusen’s rapid counter-attack, sealing a huge upset.

Hudson-Odoi’s ability to create danger from central areas and cutting in from the left has given Leverkusen’s attack fresh impetus in recent weeks.

“He helps us with his technique and agility, also that he can change his position during the game,” Seoane said of his new loan addition. “That is very valuable for us as a team.”

---

Hudson-Odoi’s positional versatility should not come as a surprise.

For much of his Chelsea youth career, the now 21-year-old considered himself primarily a No 10 and only moved out to the left flank for England’s Under-17 World Cup-winning campaign in 2017 once Jadon Sancho departed the tournament to return to Borussia Dortmund duties at the end of the group stage.

Neither role ever seemed particularly attainable for Hudson-Odoi at Chelsea, partly due to fierce competition from expensive attacking signings and partly due to the fact that previous head coach Thomas Tuchel quickly concluded that his value was limited to providing cover at right wing-back.

By the end of this summer, Hudson-Odoi felt as if he had gone stale at Chelsea — a feeling cemented by Tuchel’s decision to leave him out of the matchday squad for the Premier League opener against Everton without explanation.

Hudson-Odoi was proactive in canvassing other options and Leverkusen, boasting an impressive track record of developing young attacking talent sourced from their academy and elsewhere, immediately stood out among them.

Germany was always likely to be the destination, too.

Among those close to Hudson-Odoi, there is still the nagging question of how much closer to fulfilling his potential he would be now if he had joined Bayern Munich when they were keen three years ago, influenced by Sancho’s rapid rise to superstardom at Dortmund and also by the spectacular emergence of fellow Chelsea academy graduate Jamal Musiala at Bayern as the new golden boy of German football.

Leverkusen offered him the chance to make up for lost time in a league that has provided fertile ground for dynamic young attackers to blossom.

Hudson-Odoi’s early performances have underlined that he is well and truly over the bizarre nerve issue that curtailed last season, as well as reflecting just how seamlessly he has adapted to life in western Germany off the pitch.

Chelsea colleague Kai Havertz helped beyond giving previous club Leverkusen his seal of approval, making some initial dressing-room introductions. Hudson-Odoi has found a squad full of English speakers as well as natural friends in the forms of Frimpong and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, two other graduates of Premier League academies (Manchester’s City and United respectively) who share his Ghanaian family heritage. He is still taking German lessons, though, and is determined to assimilate as fully as he can

Hudson-Odoi’s first five appearances in a struggling Leverkusen side have yielded only that one assist to Schick and zero goals, but the examples detailed above give a fuller picture of the threat he has carried in these early weeks.

The more significant statistic is that, since coming off the bench to make his debut in that loss to Freiburg, he has started four matches in a row across all competitions — a feat he only managed twice in five seasons back at Chelsea.

That, ultimately, is the point of joining Leverkusen on a season-long loan. “Regular football gives you consistency and the more games you play, the more consistent you become, the more form starts to kick in,” Hudson-Odoi said in an interview with the Mail on Sunday last week.

“You feel fresher, you feel better, you feel like… not that you’re getting treated fairly, but that you’ve got the trust from the manager to push you, and kick you on. You don’t want to be on the bench thinking, ‘Why am I not playing?’, and then it becomes weeks and weeks, and the legs are rusty when you do play.

“The most important thing is consistent football. That’s what I’m getting here and it’s making me feel better.”

(Top photo: Rene Nijhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images) 

Hazardous won’t like this article..

57 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

I still say give him the entire season at Bayer. 

The thing is, until/unless we sign a Sterling level winger on the other side he should have been playing here.

He not only has natural (borderline freakish) chemistry with James he's a perfect counterbalance to Raheem.

18 minutes ago, ducavis said:

Hazardous won’t like this article..

Why not?

Surely everyone is happy to seeing CHO doing well.

15 minutes ago, HazardousChoice said:

Why not?

Surely everyone is happy to seeing CHO doing well.

Agreed. Worst case scenario he's performing well in a league with poorer defensive structure than the English league, but even then it is at least a boost to his confidence.

I love Hudson-Odoi and think he's a remarkably intelligent and talented player, I can't wait to have him back. A bolder Hudson-Odoi can only be a good thing. I would think that even his detractors would welcome a good series of performances in the 'shop window'.

4 hours ago, Argo said:

He not only has natural (borderline freakish) chemistry with James…

I don’t think I’ve ever seen him make a bad back or side pass to Reece. Stunning actually. 

Had a good goal disallowed for a foul in the build up play v Porto, but still ended up on the losing side. He was also nominated for Rookie of the Month in Sept, so seems to be doing well.

 

This chart from last season is very interesting. Still think he is going to be a late bloomers under the right manager.

1 hour ago, ducavis said:

Had a good goal disallowed for a foul in the build up play v Porto, but still ended up on the losing side. He was also nominated for Rookie of the Month in Sept, so seems to be doing well.

 

This chart from last season is very interesting. Still think he is going to be a late bloomers under the right manager.

It is quite obvious that cho is very good at making pass to the box something that we desperately lack. 

However, the fact that 2 manager (Lampard + Tuchel) prefer other player concern me. 

3 hours ago, ducavis said:

Had a good goal disallowed for a foul in the build up play v Porto, but still ended up on the losing side. He was also nominated for Rookie of the Month in Sept, so seems to be doing well.

 

 

no, he's been really poor the last games. Only against atletico and freiburg he was decent. He is way too overhyped imho.

But Leverkusen have been poor this season and might get a new coach very soon, so maybe that will help.

9 matches. 

0 goals. 

1 assist. 

 

22 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

9 matches. 

0 goals. 

1 assist. 

 

And in a weaker league. 

There are some things over the past 40 years which were always  badly kept secrets.

1. George Michael didn't like girls 

2. USAtim isn't a Chelsea fan

3. I think Odoi isn't even bang average.

Even before his injury I struggled to see what people were getting excited about. Everything about him points toward being a journeyman who'll never establish himself anywhere. 

If we can get any kind of fee for him I'd let him go but I suspect he'll end up leaving on a free as he'll never attract a bid from a club of a statute that he thinks he deserves. Can see a free transfer to a Villa, Wolves or Bournemouth in his future and I'll wager he won't make it there either.