Chelsea legend John Terry has urged current Blues manager Maurizio Sarri to give more game time to youngsters Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
The duo are among England’s most highly-rated young prospects alongside Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho. Both Loftus-Cheek and Hudson-Odoi are on the fringes at Stamford Bridge and the club will have to give them assurances over playing time soon or they will likely lose them, especially as the players have plenty of admirers elsewhere.
Sarri now faces a problem especially considering that the Blues now face a difficult challenge to finish in the top four. Does he go with try and tested in order to ensure a top four finish or does he groom the young blood for the sake of the club’s future?
Loftus-Cheek has so far played 13 times in the League for the Blues this season and scored three goals. Hudson-Odoi meanwhile has only played four times in the League. The 18-year-old was strongly linked with a move to Bayern Munich during the January transfer window and is even reported to have handed in a transfer request in order to make such a move happen.
The German giants will likely make another move this summer knowing that the player’s contract is due to expire during the summer of 2020. This essentially means that if Hudson-Odoi does not agree to a new contract soon, Chelsea will have to sell him next summer or they will risk losing him for free at the end of next season.
Terry believes that the West London giants must give both the young players game-time. As reported by the Chelsea website, he said: ‘Chelsea can move forward. They’re a great side and individually they have brilliance in the team. That’s throughout the whole side.
‘We can talk about the two centre-halves being incredible. You look at the boys in front of them; Kante, Barkley, the three players up front. It’s a great team to build around. Go and build upon it.
‘We’ve got people like Hudson-Odoi and it’s important to keep him. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, is he ready? Let’s find out. If we’re not going to win the league then let’s give him a chance in the league. Let’s blood the younger players and see what they’ve got.’
