FRANK LAMPARD is set to hand Callum Hudson-Odoi a starting berth in Chelsea’s trip to Sevilla on Wednesday.
The Blues head to Spain knowing that a draw will keep them on top of Group E, having already qualified for the next round.
Hudson-Odoi is banging on the door for a fresh run in the team after impressing in the recent win at Rennes.
Having scored in France, the winger was subsequently dropped from the squad for Sunday’s title clash against Tottenham.
Lampard, 42, has handed the 20-year-old just one start in Chelsea’s last eight matches.
And the boss described the decision as a ‘difficult’ one ahead of the game in Spain.
He told reporters: “I’ve been really pleased with his training lately.
“I’ve spoken about Callum at different times since I’ve been in the job. His training and attitude is bang on at the minute.
“I have tough decisions when we have a fully fit squad, that we pretty much do now, to leave players out that work hard through the week and are desperate to play for the club.
He added: “In terms of the squad I have to leave four or five players out per game.
“[Hudson-Odoi] took it very well. It’s not an easy conversation, all players want to play and I expect that.
“He’ll get minutes tomorrow, it’s up to him to then keep showing when he plays that he deserves to start because there’s competition in that area.
“That’s the reality of playing for Chelsea, so I’m not worried about the noise around it or the permutations of what not being in the squad might mean down the line.
“I’m just worried about picking the right squad. If I feel like I’m taking someone out of the squad when I think they deserve to be in it, I have to be straight and honest with them and work with them to keep them positive.
“Hopefully with Callum we’ve got that, his reaction was great, in training today he was great.”
Lampard must decide how much to rotate his side while on an unbeaten run that stretches back to September.
Along with Hudson-Odoi; Kai Havertz, Jorginho, Christian Pulisic and Olivier Giroud are pressing for more game time.
Sunday came too soon for American winger Pulisic, who came off the bench in the stalemate.
He could line-up at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan along with another starlet free of injury – Billy Gilmour.
Yet to play for Chelsea this season following a knee injury, the 19-year-old is now fit and could feature against Sevilla or in the upcoming match against Krasnodar.
Lampard stated: “He’s fit now Billy, he could probably do with some more match minutes which are hard to get in Covid times, but he’s doing very well.
“It will be nice if he can get some minutes particularly over these two Champions League games, in the remainder of the group stage.”
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Callum Hudson-Odoi shows off skills as he trains with Chelsea
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
