"I would never say anything bad about Thomas [Tuchel], he was a good guy, a good manager," the words of Callum Hudson-Odoi after completing his season-long loan move to Bayer Leverkusen.
You wouldn't expect a professional footballer to come out and say a bad word about their manager, or in this case former head coach. One thing was made perfectly clear by Hudson-Odoi, though, and that was his frustration over the 19 months Tuchel was in the Stamford Bridge dugout.
"Any footballer that isn't in the squad would understand how frustrating it is," the 21-year-old added to The Mail. "Regular football gives you consistency and the more games you play, the more consistent you become, the more form starts to kick in.
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"You feel fresher, you feel better, you feel like... not that you're getting treated fairly but that you've got the trust from the manager to push you and kick you on. You don't want to be on the bench thinking: 'Why am I not playing?'
"And then it becomes weeks and weeks and the legs are rusty when you do play. The most important thing is consistent football. That's what I'm getting here and it's making me feel better."
In all competitions under Tuchel, Hudson-Odoi made just 26 appearances in over a year and a half of the German in the dugout. 17 of those came in the starting XI while he came off the bench on nine occasions.
Albeit there were injury problems for Hudson-Odoi to contend with, but the three-time England international was not getting regular enough game-time for his liking. That's why when a loan offer from Bayer Leverkusen came in over the summer transfer window, it was one he simply couldn't refuse.
Since Hudson-Odoi has left Chelsea, though, plenty has changed at Stamford Bridge. Tuchel was dismissed from his role as head coach over two weeks ago and Graham Potter was appointed as his successor a little over 24 hours later.
Potter has somewhat of a track record for handing opportunities to youngsters – as he displayed in his previous job at Brighton & Hove Albion. And, according to German news outlet BILD, via the Mirror, one of Potter's first acts in the January transfer window could be to recall Hudson-Odoi from his loan spell at Leverkusen.
The London-born winger has a recall clause in his loan contract that Chelsea smartly inserted just in case they need the speedy wide man to return to Stamford Bridge. If Potter does indeed take advantage of the clause, then it will be a great opportunity for Hudson-Odoi, who sees his contract expire at Chelsea in the summer of 2024.
Hudson-Odoi recently opened up on a conversation he had with Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly. The winger said the American made it clear to him that he remains a part of his plans in west London.
"When a club is trying to get a player [on loan], they always want that option to buy at the end of the season," the Blues winger said. "Todd was saying: 'Listen, we want you back here.'
"You're still on the radar of being wanted by the club. The way he's trying to set it up, there are a lot of young players he's trying to buy for the next few years. It shows he wants to integrate the players into the team and help them develop."
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