“It is a big opportunity,” said Tuchel, who sold Tammy Abraham to Roma in August having already allowed Olivier Giroud to depart on a free. “It is the moment to step up, it is as simple as that. It is what they are waiting for and now they will have the responsibility.”
The trio go into the game under differing levels of pressure. Mount is enjoying an impressive season for club and country that so far lacks only a goal, in any competition; Havertz and Hudson-Odoi have much more to prove.
The former has struggled since scoring the winner in last season’s Champions League final but was on the scoresheet against Malmo when he replaced Lukaku in the 23rd minute.
Hudson-Odoi, who will be 21 next month, came on for Werner just before half-time in that game and had been handed a rare start in a home league success over Saints at the start of this month.
Tuchel gave the impression that he finds the England winger frustratingly inconsistent however when asked whether this weekend could prove a turning point in his career.
“OK, he needs to prove it,” the German shot back. “He needs to play the next 250 games at the highest level and then say that was a turning point.
“But is it a turning point if he does a brilliant match tomorrow? No. It is only a turning point if he doesn’t only do one good match, one good half, 60 minutes – if he does it consistently.
“You need to fight for it and you need to deserve it. Sometimes you need a bit of luck but in the end, the only person who can answer this question is Callum and we will support him in that situation.”
Tuchel delivered a similar message to Billy Gilmour, the midfielder who has been loaned to Norwich for the season.
The Scot, 20, cannot play against his parent club but has not started for the Canaries for a month anyway. Many Chelsea fans are demanding a January recall but Tuchel was having none of it.
“Now is not the time to speak about coming back. It is time to fight for his place and show what he can do,” he said. “Nobody is obliged to play our players but no coach in the world will leave the best players out.
“He needs to prove that Norwich is a better team with him. I trust that he can do it and hopefully he does not lose trust in himself and he can turn things around.”
Hudson-Odoi could benefit from Chelsea’s injury crisis
Hudson-Odoi impressed as a substitute against Malmo (Photo: AFP)
Analysis by Kat Lucas
Both Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner will be out for “some matches”, Thomas Tuchel confirmed, starting with the weekend’s Premier League game against Norwich City.
In their absence, Kai Havertz and Callum Hudson-Odoi might spy an opportunity as the Chelsea boss demanded they show the same “hunger” against the top flight’s basement club as they did under the lights in the Champions League.
Told to “work up and down the line, be direct and stay as high and wide as possible,” Hudson-Odoi earned Man of the Match in Tuchel’s first two games.
Against Norwich, he is likely to be called upon either to lead the line with Havertz as a front two – as Werner and Lukaku did against Brentford – or play a wide role with Mason Mount on the other side.
Norwich (with the second worst Premier League defence after Newcastle) will allow them to experiment – lessons could even be learned from the recent 1-0 defeat to Manchester City in which both Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne operated as false nines at various points.
The low point of Hudson-Odoi’s time under Tuchel came in February, when he came on as a substitute for Tammy Abraham against Southampton only to be taken off again 31 minutes later. There is far less scope for such a show of unbelief this time with Chelsea so stretched in attack.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3b2uYT3
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