With the ink having recently dried on Callum Hudson-Odoi’s new five-year contract, Frank Lampard has explained what the young winger must now do and where he can take inspiration from.
Hudson-Odoi put pen to paper yesterday and in doing so committed to the club he has been at for over half his life. The 18-year-old burst onto the scene last season with a series of impressive performances and goals before injury halted his progress. He stepped up his recovery from that Achilles setback by playing for our development squad last Friday, and is set to do so again tomorrow when Andy Myers’ side travel to Southampton.
Lampard was understandably delighted Hudson-Odoi’s future has been decided, and in his Cobham press conference today he explained what role he had in the process.
‘As soon as I got the job I made contact with him to make him aware I want him to be part of the plans,’ said Lampard.
‘The only conversations I had with him were not persuasion, it was how I see it at the club. He’s a young lad who has come through the Academy here. The club has worked hard with him. He has worked hard to get one foot in the first team.
‘Then it was away from me slightly in terms of the club dealing with the contract itself, but I wanted to make it clear I wanted him at the club because I believe in his talent.
‘Now the five-year contract is signed is when the hard work really starts for him. He has got everything in front of him. We know the talent he has, he has shown his talent on occasions when he has had his opportunity, but I think there is a lot more. It’s pure hard work getting there.
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‘Hopefully Callum can look at the other younger players around him that are getting their opportunities,’ added the boss.
‘They have deserved them because they worked so hard in pre-season. That is a nice thing for him to see, and hopefully be hungry for, and now it’s signed and sealed we can put that to bed and get to work.’
READ MORE: Hudson-Odoi discusses Frank Lampard's influence on him