ben chilwell leicester City
Gareth Southgate has admitted has admiration for Chelsea duo Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi to have bounced back from their own difficulties in a successful manner amid England call-ups.
Ben Chilwell said: “To be honest that’s part of my game that the manager has helped me with most and improved me most with. Getting the opportunities in and around the box to be more of a goal threat, contribute more with goals and assists to help the team. Tuchel said: ‘Express yourself, enjoy yourself, score some goals or get some assists’! He’s expressed that to us a lot. Me and Callum the past few games, as long as one of you is wide and one is inside it doesn’t matter which way around it is. Get in the box, help the team score goals. We have a brilliant defensive unit behind us with Toni [Rudiger] or Malang [Sarr] behind me. You have brilliant players that can cover you.”
Meanwhile, Hudson-Odoi has inadvertently benefitted off the back of both Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner being out of the fray due to injuries picked up against the Swedish Champions in the Stamford Bridge tie. His three-goal contributions in the last five games, in which he has featured, has given Tuchel food for thought when the two aforementioned Chelsea stars return.
Thomas Tuchel said: “He had a very good pre-season when we saw what he could do on the half-left side. He struggled a bit, in the beginning, to prove that during matches but now we’ve had some injuries, it was needed that he shows up and delivers. This is what he did. Like we always say, to get a place in this team, it’s all about performance and this is what Callum shows at the moment.”
Fast forward to Thursday and both players have been rewarded for their endeavours with an England call up for the upcoming games against Albania and San Marino during this upcoming November international break. Southgate was waxing lyrical about the two when he justified his reasons for the inclusion of the west London duo.
Gareth Southgate said: “I’m really pleased for him [Chilwell]. It was a really difficult summer for him. And when he went back to the club he wasn’t straight into the team, so I think I said when we called him back in last time, we wanted his next experience with England to be one where he played, and also when he was up to speed and had had some football with his club, which he got just before he came into the squad late last time. He did very well in the game that he played, and he’s continued that goal-scoring form with his club as well. It’s nice to see him flourishing, playing with a lot of confidence and enjoying his football.”
On Callum Hudson Odoi,
Gareth Southgate said: “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. 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 I 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.”
Both Chelsea men will be hoping for some invaluable international minutes, especially Hudson-Odoi, before the pair return for the away trip to Leicester City which follows immediately after the latest international period comes to a close.
