Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi
Callum Hudson-Odoi is enjoying somewhat of a resurgence at Chelsea and the attention will duly turn to where his international future lies. There remains a question mark over whether or not the winger can restart his England career or whether the Three Lions will lose him altogether.
Despite having represented England’s seniors on three occasions – and all three caps coming in competitive matches – Hudson Odoi remains eligible for Ghana.
A FIFA eligibility rule change in September 2020 means players who have played no more than three senior competitive matches before the age of 21 are permitted to switch international allegiance provided none of those matches came in a continental finals tournament or a World Cup.
Gareth Southgate didn’t call up the winger to his 25-man squad ahead of the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and San Marino in the November international break.
The 20-year-old has justifiably been left out of recent England squads due to his fringe status under Thomas Tuchel at club level, but there was a case to pick him this time around.
Raheem Sterling has often found himself on the bench for his club but retains his place based on past international performances. Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford has had just three starts this season since his return from a shoulder injury.
Hudson-Odoi, in that timeframe, has started the last four Chelsea games with his side top of the Premier League, in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and in a good position in their Champions League group.
Southgate on Thursday explained his omission of Hudson-Odoi, who has declined to participate with the under-21s, while also name-checking the likes of Conor Gallagher, Marc Guehi, Emile Smith Rowe, Tino Livramento and Fikayo Tomori.
“I had a good chat with Callum before last month’s get-together because it is difficult if you are a young player, you’ve been with the senior team, he went back to play with the under-21s in the last cycle and then to go again in a second cycle, I can understand is a difficult challenge,” when asked by Goal.
“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.
“He has had a couple of good matches for Chelsea. I know Thomas 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.”
Southgate’s decision leaves some hope for Ghana, who are trying to poach Hudson-Odoi before it is too late. If he plays one more time for England, then Hudson-Odoi will be cap-tied but he stirred up excitement within his father’s home nation by travelling there for his summer holiday.
Although it is understood by Goal that he is currently very much committed to England, his head could be turned closer to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The winger’s aim is to compete at the next major international tournament.
Southgate’s positive relationship with Hudson-Odoi buys time for England, with the manager having allowed Chelsea’s No.20 to become the youngest-ever player in a competitive match for England on his debut.
What works against Hudson-Odoi’s chances of being selected however is his current reluctance to play with Lee Carsley’s U21s. Having competed at the European Championship at that level last season, Hudson-Odoi now feels it isn’t doing much for his development to play age-group football.
Minus that senior call-up, his focus is on impressing Tuchel who has not made it easy for his homegrown starlet. Recent injuries and illnesses for Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount have re-opened the door to Hudson-Odoi at Chelsea.
Having “done a job for the team”, as Tuchel put it after playing him at wing-back, he has since got a goal and two assists in his favoured left-wing role.
Hudson-Odoi had lost a lot of confidence being out of the team and having torn his Achilles tendon, and was at the centre of a distracting super-club tug-of-war between the Blues and Bayern Munich.
But now he is back to taking people on, creating chances and building his match rhythm. Whether for club or country, Hudson-Odoi just wants to realise the potential he showed when he broke through at just 17.