Callum Hudson-Odoi broke into the Chelsea senior set-up at a very young age, and he largely operating as a left or right-winger.
But, Hudson-Odoi has since struggled to hold down a regular spot on the wing, which is not shocking due to all the talent Chelsea have in the said spot.
As a result, when Thomas Tuchel came in at the back end of January 2021, he chose to start using Hudson-Odoi as a right-wing-back in a back-five and this has largely been his position since.
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Despite this, in a recent interview with Chelsea, Hudson-Odoi confirmed he likes to play in more attacking positions, adding that playing as a wing-back is harder: “I’d definitely say I prefer more-attacking positions for myself, as a winger or a No.10 kind of player.
“Obviously I like to be direct and try to create scoring opportunities for the team, hopefully try to score some myself. Playing in that position I’m more comfortable and I feel more free while playing there as well.
“So it’s definitely a nice position, to know that I can go out there, be myself, be free and try to create and score goals as well, but at the same time playing at wing-back is definitely more defensive. Your mentality is more about defending the goal than attacking the goal at times.”
But, the 21-year-old winger still believes that playing as a wing-back has benefited his game.
Hudson-Odoi, in the same interview, explained that his experience at wing-back helps with knowing how to defend from the front when he is used as a winger: “I think it’s added more to my defensive side.
“Playing wing-back is more defensive-minded, so you have to judge when to lunge in for a tackle, not just recklessly going in, or making sure you’re in the right position when you’re covering for a team-mate, or if you’re one-on-one against an attacker you just have to make sure you stand your ground and show him outside or inside where there’s more bodies.
“For myself it’s definitely added a defensive side to my game and it helps as well, especially if you’re playing higher up the pitch, for the pressing side and knowing how to defend from the front. So it’s definitely good.”
