Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek can become top players for Chelsea- Maurizio Sarri

The duo made vital contributions for the Blues in their recent victory over Brighton & Hove Albion.

In the early hours of Thursday, Chelsea faced Brighton in the Premier League and gave Callum Hudson-Odoi the first start of his career, something that the fans had been yearning for. As, expected, the young Englishman contributed with an assist to the first goal of the game scored by Olivier Giroud.

Moreover, another young English talent, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, impressed the home crowd on the night with an assist for the second goal and netted a beautiful curler in the top corner for the third and the final goal, which gave Chelsea all three points, leapfrogging them over Manchester United to fifth position on the table.

This prompted the manager, Maurizio Sarri, to compliment the duo in the post-match conference and expressed his wish for both youngsters to play a central role in Chelsea’s future plans. Sarri had this to say upon being asked if both players can become central to Chelsea’s future ambitions, “I think so and I hope so. In the future, they can become top players; for this team, the future could be good.”

Speaking on the possibility of retaining their young stars at the club, the gaffer responded by saying that, “I don’t know; sometimes it’s impossible to do something. As you can see in other teams, it’s very difficult to keep the young players. When you are under 18 in England, you can sign only for three years. So it’s a big risk for the club.”

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“Callum now is ready to play in every match, even the most difficult match. He has to keep his feet on the ground. He could risk thinking he is a player at 100 per-cent, but it’s impossible to be at the top when you are 18”, said the tactician speaking to the press after the game. 

Interestingly, Chelsea rejected a bid for Hudson-Odoi from Bayern Munich in the January transfer window in the region of £35 million. Reports have also suggested that many of the top European clubs will also attempt to lure the youngster away from Chelsea.

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The gaffer also spoke about Loftus-Cheek and his fitness saying that, “Loftus for the first time in the season is without his problem in his back. For the last 20 days, he was able to train every day. He played very well and scored a wonderful goal but then had a little problem with his hamstring. Nothing serious, only a cramp I think. But tomorrow I want to be sure of the situation about his back.”

Chelsea fans share this sentiment with the manager hoping that both Hudson-Odoi and Loftus Cheek commit their long-term futures at the club. However, it will be interesting to see if Maurizio Sarri himself manages to remain at his position in the next season to oversee the growth of both the players mentioned above.