Sports News of Saturday, 9 March 2019

Source: ghanasoccernet.com

Hudson-Odoi can be ‘far’ better than Pedro and Willian - Glenn Hoddle

Callum Hudson-Odoi Callum Hudson-Odoi

Former England coach Glenn Hoddle is convinced by the potential of Callum Hudson-Odoi, claiming he can be far better than Willian and Pedro.

Hudson-Odoi came off the bench to score in the 3-0 win over Dynamo Kiev in the quarterfinals first leg of the Europa League on Thursday.

Several pundits exalted the 18-year old for his cameo display in the game, and Hoddle has joined them in singing his praises but says he has proven nothing yet.

"I think he's an immense talent. What I've seen at youth level and when England [Under-17s] won the World Cup, he looks the part, he looks intelligent.”

"I look for intelligence in a young player, not what he can do with the ball, it's where he will be in five years' time.”

"Will he be far better than Willian? Will he be far better than Pedro? Probably, if he's given the chance.”

"He's got to get the chance to go in there and get the experience under his belt.”

"He looks the part. I'm very disappointed. I expected him to be playing today I must say. You know what Pedro can do, you know what Willian can do.”

"He's got to be given a chance. He's got a talent. We don't know how far he can go, we don't know how good he is. He hasn't been tested against the top teams. I've not seen him tear Man City apart or go in Europe and tear people apart.”

"He's got immense talent, he looks the part but he needs the time to play. He hasn't played enough. He's not played 20 games, the minutes equate to eight-and-a-half matches.”

"They're talking about selling him for £40m. He's not proven anything yet. Eight-and-a-half games is nothing."