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Chelsea youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi had a bright season at Chelsea which was only marred by injury towards the end of the campaign.

At some point this season, it was evident that Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri didn’t trust the 18-year-old and he barely featured until the latter parts of the season.

Former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has hailed Hudson-Odoi as a youngster with a huge potential and admits from the onset he knew there was something about the teenager.

“He is a good boy who is full of confidence,” Fabregas told Goal. “I remember this first training session that we did with Antonio Conte. We did 11 against zero. Just to do a little bit of play and finishing. His finishing was superb.

“I thought, I have never seen this kid before but actually he has something about him. It was very early and only the first day but you could definitely see something. Then the more he trained with us you could see that he was getting more confident. He was taking people on in training and he was not afraid.

“You could see that he had a lot of potential. Slowly, slowly he grew up. He played a little bit more and in the end, there was nothing else that Sarri could do but play him. Very well deserved.”

Fabregas also doesn’t blame Sarri for refusing to give Hudson-Odoi a chance at first, as he revealed that most times a manager’s job is on the line and he just has to deliver or else face the sack.

Fabregas said: “It is difficult because, from a manager’s point of view, you are fighting for your job every day. In football today, you could lose two games and be sacked the next day. That’s why coaches are sometimes hesitant to make changes or trust someone who doesn’t have the experience or is too young. They can look good in training but then in a game situation, they could freeze or make a mistake. The mistake could be in their head in the future if they aren’t strong enough.

“I don’t blame coaches too much. I know it is very difficult.”