Since returning from the international break, Chelsea has struggled to get back to winning ways. We are only two matches in, but the Blues have already conceded seven goals and only scored two. The confidence in the defence has clearly taken a hit, but the end product is lacking just as much. You can imagine the excessive theories from the fan base depicting why this is. The attacking form has been the subject of discussion since the start of the season. It's either Thomas Tuchel's men are not scoring enough, or they are not creating enough.
The debates include shouts for fan favourites to be included, insisting that they would make the difference. The one player that has not let Tuchel down when called upon to start is Callum Hudson-Odoi. His absence has been seen as rather detrimental, especially this last week.
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Thomas Tuchel announced in his pre-match press conference for Southampton that Callum Hudson-Odoi is still out with injury. The 21-year-old has been struggling with his Achilles and will probably be out for a number of weeks. This comes as a major blow, with Chelsea fans missing his creative prowess in the attack. Since 2019, fans have called on him to be a consistent starter in the team, and to this day, the plea remains the same, and for a good reason.
Chelsea has NOT lost a game in which Callum Hudson-Odoi has started this season. Take from this stat what you will, but the fact is that the Blues are more effective when he starts. His link-up play earlier in the season with Ben Chilwell was highly adored. The pair were set to create a lethal partnership on the left flank before Chilwell was sadly struck with a long-term injury.
It's difficult to say what could have been f both players were given more time to play together. You could just see a better dynamic within the team when they started together. More fluid, creative football. It was far too short-lived.
Despite Chilwell's absence until the end of the season, Hudson-Odoi was still capable of working his magic around the pitch. To be quite honest, he is the closest player to an actual traditional winger. We don't see many of them these days at Chelsea. We have several "inside forwards" or "attacking" forwards, but none that actually hug the byline before drifting in as Hudson-Odoi does.
To be honest with you, the addition of Hudson-Odoi could have changed the outcome of Chelsea's recent games, maybe. We cannot be too sure. The success of a team doesn't truly rely on one player. Kai Havertz is the closes we've come to having a consistent big-game player since the departure of Eden Hazard.
The harsh reality is that we are not as creative or dynamic enough in the final third, and this has been an issue since before Thomas Tuchel arrived. We've always lacked in that aspect, and Hudson-Odoi is the closest to a solution. In his absence, the Blues have to find the form that they had prior to the international break.
Thomas Tuchel will need to look for a solution to the Blues' recent dip in form, not just for the defence but also for the attack. They've done it many times before. Without the youngster, they can do it again.
