Maurizio Sarri has decided against starting Callum Hudson-Odoi away to Cardiff this weekend despite the youngster impressing for England during the international break.
Hudson-Odoi has been restricted to just six substitute appearances in the league this term and the 18-year-old winger is keen to join Bayern Munich in the summer due to a lack of first-team opportunities at Stamford Bridge.
The teenager made a second-half cameo appearance in England’s 5-0 victory over Czech Republic before starting and completing the Three Lions’ 5-1 win over to Montenegro.
Hudson-Odoi’s full England debut came before he had even been handed his first start in the Premier League for Chelsea and the youngster must wait even longer for his chance.
According to The Guardian, Sarri failed to even watch all of Hudson-Odoi’s England performances and the Italian will opt for experience in Cardiff.
The report claims Sarri only caught ‘snippets’ of the forward’s displays as he had 14 other internationals to watch over the last fortnight.
Eden Hazard, Willian and Pedro remain ahead of Hudson-Odoi in the pecking order at Chelsea.
Asked whether he had seen Hudson-Odoi’s performance versus Montenegro, Sarri replied: ‘No, no. No, only 20 minutes because I had 14 players in the national teams, and I had no time to watch 20 matches.
‘Callum didn’t start very well in the first 20 minutes on the right. He did very well on the left, immediately. But I know him very well, and I know he prefers to play on the left.
‘I don’t know [if he will start at Cardiff]. Last season Callum was only 17 and played three or four matches. This season he is really very young – only 18 – but, at the moment, he has played for … I don’t remember exactly, but 19 or 20 matches. So I think the evolution is the right evolution.’
Sarri added: ‘Probably, he will play 30-35 matches next season. And so I think that, with Callum, we are on the right path. We have to play eight matches in 28 days, and so I am sure that Callum will start in two or three matches.
‘But Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup… for me, it’s the same… for me, there’s no difference. I’m really very confident in him. He started a lot of matches. Probably not in the Premier League, but that’s by chance.
‘It’s not a problem for me to put him in the starting XI in a Premier League match. He’s ready. But of course I can play with only two wingers.
‘In the squad we have Hazard, Willian, Pedro, so it’s not really very easy to start in every match here. Probably, in the near future, he will start in 75-80% of matches.’
MORE: Five Manchester United stars included in provisional squad following injuries
