MICHAEL ESSIEN REACTS TO CHELSEA STAR'S NEW LOOK

Chelsea icon Michael Essien has had his say on Callum Hudson-Odoi’s new look as the winger returned to training following an injury absence. The 21-year-old has now missed a total of 14 games since picking up an Achilles problem back in March. The timing of the injury was rather unfortunate as he had started more and more games in his preferred left winger role up until that point.

The Chelsea academy graduate would have provided Tuchel with more options in wing-back positions as well if he had been available. He announced his return to the team training on Wednesday — as well as his new haircut — with social media posts. This attracted the attention of Blues fan favourite ESSIEN. “Looking much nicer with this hairstyle,” the former Ghana international wrote in the comment section.

Well, at least Hakim Ziyech will not be teasing Hudson-Odoi any more for sporting a similar hairstyle winger to NBA and Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler. It remains unclear whether Hudson-Odoi will be in contention to start in Saturday’s match against Wolves after a lengthy injury absence.
Thomas Tuchel seems to prefer a 3-4-1-2 formation, with Mason Mount operating as a number 10 behind two strikers, than his usual 3-4-2-1 in recent weeks. Unlike the latter, the former system does not use two wide playmakers which could hinder Hudson-Odoi and other wingers, such as Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech.
Hudson-Odoi has been heavily linked with an exit from Chelsea due to his lack of game time under manager Thomas Tuchel but while the speculations have continued to make the rounds in the media, it still does not look like he's pretty close to leaving Stamford Bridge in the summer transfer window. However, he is expected to make a decision at the end of the current campaign.