Many of the Nottingham Forest stars are stepping into uncharted territory with the potential of Champions League football, but not Callum Hudson-Odoi.
His time at Chelsea saw the 24-year-old win the Champions League in 2021, with his legacy living on enough that Robbie Earle hailed Hudson-Odoi as better than Jadon Sancho who is struggling at Chelsea.
Hudson-Odoi won’t have any regrets about leaving Stamford Bridge given how he is thriving under Nuno Espirito Santo, so much so that Forest are looking to give Hudson-Odoi a new contract.
At one point, Bayern Munich attempted a £70m bid for Hudson-Odoi which highlighted his Champions League credentials, something that would’ve helped him notice just when the dream became a reality this season at the City Ground.
When Nottingham Forest realised their Champions League credentials
Espirito Santo guided Forest to survival last season after replacing Steve Cooper in December 2023, but nobody could’ve predicted how vastly different this campaign would go for the Reds.
Hudson-Odoi clearly saw something in the squad, though and spoke to Sky Sports about what changed in pre-season at the Forest training ground.
He said: “For me, I think it was more pre-season. Obviously, at the end of last season we were like: ‘Ok, we’ve survived, cool’, but before the start of this season we were all talking like we can’t be where we were last season, we can’t do that.
“We have crazy ability as a team, crazy talent that we have to go and win games and hopefully win competitions. So for us, we were looking at it and thinking ok, this season that comes up we have to make sure that we’re either in the top ten, top eight or even competing for Champions League football or European football.”
The Forest squad is evidently talented, but to hear the mental strength in the side to understand their abilities to push forward away from the relegation battle is something to commend Hudson-Odoi and his teammates for.
However, his experience at the highest level has led to him being a useful guide for the squad.
Callum Hudson-Odoi has kept the Forest squad focused amid Champions League excitement
The campaign hasn’t been perfect for the ex-Chelsea man, with Hudson-Odoi missing out on an England call-up despite impressing at Forest.
His focus remains on the goal of Champions League football at the City Ground, though, and speaking to the Mirror in early March, it’s clear that he has been key to maintaining the side’s focus.
Hudson-Odoi said: “We know where we are. It’s important to understand that. But we don’t like to talk about it. It’s just game by game. You don’t have to discuss where we are because it gets your head excited and we’d be: ‘Oh my gosh, we’re there – we’re finally going to do it.’
“I think it’s better we can see where we are at the end of the season. The problem is, we don’t want to distract ourselves too much. It’s not done. Nowhere near done. We’re excited where we are. We’re buzzing to be where we are.”
Tuchel wasn’t impressed by his England wingers so you’d like to think that Hudson-Odoi will get a shot in the national team eventually, but all focus remains on securing Forest’s seat at Europe’s top table for now.
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