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Thomas Tuchel claims it was easy to not let Callum Hudson-Odoi leave Chelsea

Tuchel claims it was easy to not let Hudson-Odoi leave
© Reuters
Thomas Tuchel insists that he found it easy to keep Callum Hudson-Odoi at Chelsea during the summer, despite interest in the winger from abroad and in the Premier League.

Thomas Tuchel has insisted that he had no question marks over his decision to keep Callum Hudson-Odoi at Chelsea for this season, despite interest from elsewhere.

The young winger was involved in a lot of transfer speculation over the summer, with reports that both Borussia Dortmund and Leicester City were interested in acquiring his services.

Despite the rumours surrounding him, Hudson-Odoi has stayed in London for another season, with Tuchel making it clear that he has no interest in letting him leave, as he is a key part of his squad.

The Chelsea boss told reporters: "We have spoken. It was a very easy decision for me to make on the last day of the transfer period. We cannot afford to let a player leave who is in the 18/19 man squad. He is able to play as a right wing-back, a left wing-back in the two 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."

The Chelsea academy graduate was able to start his first game of the season against Aston Villa at the weekend, playing a part in the 3-0 victory.

While he was initially used as a wing-back, Hudson-Odoi did get the chance to progress further up the pitch later in the game as the German coach pushed him on into a forward position, before he was replaced by Timo Werner.

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Written by
Matthew Wilkinson

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