Thomas Tuchel has said there was ‘no chance’ he would’ve allowed Callum Hudson-Odoi to leave Chelsea and join Dortmund on loan.
The 20-year-old has struggled to secure a regular role at the club since Tuchel took over from Frank Lampard as manager in January and had been open to the prospect of leaving in the summer.
Dortmund, who sold Jadon Sancho to Manchester United earlier in tge summer, had made an approach in the closing stages of the transfer window and were interested in signing the winger on loan.
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But Tuchel says he was adamant about keeping Hudson-Odoi at Stamford Bridge and has urged him to ‘overcome the gap between training and games’ after he started at right wing-back in the 3-0 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday.
When asked about blocking Hudson-Odoi’s possible transfer to Dortmund, Tuchel said: ‘We have spoken. It was a very easy decision for me to make on the last day of the transfer period. We cannot let a player who is in the 18, 19 man squad leave.
‘He is able to play as a right wing-back, a left wing-back in the two No.10 positions. He knows the group, we know him very well. There was no chance to say yes on the last day.
‘For him personally, it may have been a good opportunity but for us and our targets that we want to achieve, it was simply impossible. It was an easy one for me actually.
‘Callum has to overcome the gap between training and games. I see a stronger Callum every day in training and he needs to overcome this gap and show this kind of determination that he shows in training.
‘If he gets minutes, it’s never a gift. Nobody gets gifts because we take maybe hard decisions like for Callum not to let him go [on loan].
‘He needs to deserve it. I know it’s [right wing-back] not his favourite position but I think he can play this position and serve the team when it’s necessary.
‘Today it was necessary and still he can do better, still he can be more aggressive, still he needs to push himself absolutely to the limits.
‘This is what he does in training and, as I said, he needs to overcome this gap to fight for his place in the squad. This is life at Chelsea.’
