You could be forgiven for buying into the theory Chelsea are the victim of an injury curse this season. N'Golo Kante, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Ruben Loftus- Cheek were all put on the treatment table for the World Cup break. And now even players the club have not officially signed yet are picking up injuries.
Big target Christopher Nkunku is the latest star to be ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar. The 25- year-old suffered an injury during training with the France squad before their opening game with Australia on Tuesday, with the team confirming he had sprained his knee .
Nkunku has been linked to Chelsea since serious
reports emerged last month that the west London
club are looking to secure his signature ahead of
the January window, hoping to beat out elite
European competition before his release clause
becomes active next summer.
Whether this injury setback for Nkunku gives
Chelsea second thoughts is hard to tell,
particularly given the hefty fee you could pay for
him to join in 2023.
The interest in the forward is
understandable and the hype is justified given 17
goals in his first 23 appearances for RB Leipzig
this season.
An attacking alternative for Todd Boehly in
January would also come from the Bundesliga but
is on loan from Chelsea in Callum Hudson-Odoi.
The academy graduate is currently with Bayer
Leverkusen for the season but can be recalled
midway through.
Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso has heaped
praise onto Hudson-Odoi who has been a
consistent member of his starting lineup since he
replaced Gerardo Seoane in October.
"I want to keep him a lot," Alonso said. "I'm sure
that he will stay until the end of the season. He is
an important player for us."
Hudson-Odoi is enjoying more minutes in
Germany and starting to produce in his favoured
position on the left of attack but has also been
used more centrally too. The 22-year-old scored
in Leverkusen's friendly win over MLS side Saint
Louis 3-0 during the winter break.
"My mindset was, 'I have to get out of there'. Not
in a rude way, as in 'I don’t like the club or I don’t
want to be at the club, I don’t like the club'.
Nothing like that," Hudson-Odoi told The Athletic
in an interview recently.
"But I needed to play football somewhere new.
Start afresh. Try the best I can wherever I am. And
then go back to Chelsea at the end of the loan.”
Hudson-Odoi needed to get out of the Chelsea
bubble to gain more minutes and he is getting
exactly that from the loan so far. Unlike at
Chelsea, where he was shifted into unfamiliar
roles and spent spells on the bench, Leverkusen
has offered a fresh twist.
He is now not only starting games in a top
European league, but he also started all six of
Leverkusen's Champions League group matches
too. Although the key numbers might not look that
eye-catching on their own, those who have
watched Hudson-Odoi's performances showcase a
creative player who has probably been let down by
the finishing of teammates and some unlucky VAR
overturns.
Chelsea's woeful run of form and mood around
Stamford Bridge might look towards Hudson-Odoi
with the hope of an impactful comeback, but for
his own development it is best he remains in
Leverkusen for the entirety of this season.
No comments:
Post a Comment