Rio Ferdinand has warned Callum Hudson-Odoi that this campaign could be his last chance to secure a place at Chelsea and said he was worried about Trevoh Chalobah before the transfer window closing.
Chelsea have made a good start to the season, only dropping points away to Liverpool when they were reduced to 10 men, while both players started in the 3-0 win over Aston Villa.
Thomas Tuchel blocked Hudson-Odoi from leaving the club this summer and deployed him at wing-back against Villa, though says he needs to improve and ‘push himself to his limits.’
With the Chelsea manager offering no guarantees to the player, Hudson-Odoi still faces an uncertain future at the club and Ferdinand believes it could be a crucial season.
‘Hudson-Odoi has been promising and threatening for a couple of seasons now,’ said Ferdinand on his Vibe with FIVE YouTube show.
‘It’s got to be his breakthrough season where he really cements his place in that team if he’s going to have a chance of staying there and being a real Chelsea player for many years to come.
‘Because he’s got undoubted talent, but he hasn’t really translated the talent he showed as a kid in the youth teams and the teams coming up.
‘He had that big buzz around him which he hasn’t transferred yet consistently into this Chelsea team so hopefully he can do that.’
Chalobah appears to have made a huge impression on Tuchel, though Ferdinand was worried about his prospects when Chelsea were chasing Sevilla’s Jules Kounde.
That deal never happened, while Kurt Zouma was sold to West Ham, and Ferdinand now feels the situation is good for Chalobah to properly establish himself.
He continued: ‘I was a bit worried for Chalobah, I’ve got to say.
‘I saw him play in the Super Cup and he was outstanding and I thought, “Yeah this is a good chance for him, this season could be a good one that he comes in and does well”.
‘Then I saw them bidding for Kounde… but then what was refreshing was that Zouma went. The fact they let Zouma go tells you they’ve got huge confidence in Chalobah and that he’s going to get game time this year.
‘If Kounde had signed I’d have been worried. But he’ll get good game time this year, a chance to show his worth and really try to improve and get in that team. And I look forward to seeing it.’
