In Focus: Hudson-Odoi can grow to new heights in Forest

Callum Hudson-Odoi might be in the right place to finally fulfil his potential.

Nottingham Forest swooped to sign the winger from Chelsea for just £5million on deadline day.

The 22-year-old marked his Monday night debut with a stunning goal to earn his new team a 1-1 draw with Burnley. 

Ahead of Forest's trip to Manchester City at the weekend, we take a look at Hudson-Odoi's fresh chance. 

England debut

It is easy to forget how highly rated Hudson-Odoi was when he burst onto the scene at Chelsea. 

Antonio Conte handed him his Blues debut in an FA Cup tie against Newcastle as a 17-year-old.

The forward's first England appearance was as a substitute in a 5-0 thrashing of the Czech Republic in a Euro 2020 qualifier.

At 18 years and 135 days old, he was the youngest debutant to represent the Three Lions in a competitive match since Duncan Edwards back in 1955. 

Yet Hudson-Odoi has not added to the three England caps he won in 2019 and failed to establish himself as a regular at Stamford Bridge.

Injury issues

Hudson-Odoi is not the only highly-rated player who has failed to make it at Chelsea in recent times.

He had to compete with a succession of big-money signings at a club who also regularly changed manager and tactical approach.

As a result, only 66 of his 125 appearances for the Blues were as a starter.

There was little continuity in terms of position either, with his minutes being split between the right and left flanks — along with the occasional experiment as a wing-back. 

Injuries also hampered his progress. He ruptured his Achilles tendon in 2019 — which then caused in a related issue in 2022 — and the Cobham graduate spoke about the impact it had.

He said: "It was a neurological thing where I had a tweaked nerve in my back and it stemmed all the way down through my body, so it then became difficult for me to retain muscle. 

"There was no power in my legs and everything was like, 'Woah'. I was trying to pass the ball 10 yards but I had no power and I couldn't even do it. 

"The issue started with my Achilles and then I was trying to use other parts of my body to make up for it, so when I was running I wasn't running on my toes as much, because my Achilles power wasn't that strong." 

Wright stuff

After his disappointing loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen last season, Hudson-Odoi's reputation deteriorated to a stage where Forest were able to sign him for a bargain fee.

Ian Wright gave his verdict on the move after the winger's spectacular debut goal on Monday. 

He said: "Absolute bargain, absolute bargain. 

"I'm going to give him some flowers because I was pleased for the goal. I'm pleased with what that will do for him, his confidence. 

"And you just hope that now he can continue to play, get some consistency in his game and then we can see that guy we were expecting to see at Chelsea." 

Still just 22, there is plenty of time for Hudson-Odoi to reach the heights that were expected of him.