Among the myriad reasons why relegation would be unthinkable for Nottingham Forest, the likelihood of a fire sale of talent tops the list.
The final relegation followed a 23-year exodus before the club returned to the top flight of English football.
Regular visitors to Trentside will mention how Morgan Gibbs-White has lit up the City Ground this season. Matz Sels has brought some long-overdue reassurance in goal to inject confidence into a thriving defensive partnership with Willy Boly and Murillo.
Saturday, May 11, 5:00 p.m
Kick-off is 5:30 p.m
And yet the player who faces his former club this weekend, Callum Hudson-Odoi, is likely to suffer most from being relegated to the Championship.
Forest hosts Chelsea continue Football on Saturday evening know that their fate lies in their own hands. They will secure their Premier League status for the third time since promotion if they better Luton’s result next weekend and keep Burnley within a point.
His seven Premier League goals with Forest have already surpassed the four he scored during his entire time at Chelsea
Nuno Espirito Santo has the core of a good group, and Hudson-Odoi is the least known of his group.
The sale of Brennan Johnson to Tottenham last summer for £47.5m was at the heart of a trial that ended with Forest being deducted four points for failing to exceed allowable losses under the highest profitability and sustainability (PSR) rules for the The period until then had exceeded the end of the 2022-23 season.
But the arrival of Hudson-Odoi, designed effectively to help fill the attacking void left by Johnson, proved to be one of the smartest pieces of business by a club this season.
Hudson-Odoi enjoys his football with a defined role as an inverted winger
Hudson-Odoi is still only 23 and cost Forest around £3m, with a possible further £2m in add-ons.
At the time, it seemed like a bargain for a player who was on the radar of big clubs just a few years ago. His performances since the turn of the year have only strengthened this argument.
His brace in last Saturday’s 3-1 win at Sheffield United means he has scored six goals since December 23 and has started 14 games in that time. Before Steve Cooper was sacked five days before Christmas, Hudson-Odoi had made just four starts.
Hudson-Odoi thrived under Nuno Espirito Santo
He has now played 1,332 minutes, compared to just 348 minutes before this date. Espirito Santo’s faith is rewarded – and the player is desperate to make up for lost time.
The former Chelsea winger comes into his own for Forest, playing as an inverted winger on the left.
His brace in South Yorkshire, where he twice shot inside and fired into the far corner, took him to seven goals for the season, but he wants to score more.
Hudson-Odoi’s seven league goals this season came despite an xG of 2.6 (exceeded by 4.4) – only five players have exceeded their xG more this season
“I want to help the team and get more goals and assists. Hopefully there will be many more to come,” he said.
“When I hit the post I thought, ‘Is it going in or not?’ The more you shoot, the greater your chance of getting into the goal. I like to help the team.”
Chelsea retain a sell-on clause as part of the deal, but this weekend the stage is set for the winger to deliver another standout performance.
“We still have two games left and we are relieved,” Hudson-Odoi added. “It’s nice to score goals and help the team, but what was more important was that I helped the team.”
Hudson-Odoi scored in both halves at Bramall Lane
“We know where we are in the table and we want to get out of this position. Hopefully we stay safe. The fans have been fantastic and we need their support in the last two games.”
He suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in April 2019, bringing a promising breakout season at Stamford Bridge to a premature end. Because he played a position that focused on speed, he feared he would never play again.
The injury came just as he was establishing himself in Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea team and in the senior England team. This would mean he misses the victory over Arsenal in the Europa League final as well as the Nations League victory this summer with the Three Lions.
An Achilles tendon injury in April 2019 derailed his career
Bayern Munich had a £35million offer rejected in 2020, but increasing competition in a crowded squad and his battle with injuries meant his Chelsea career never really took off.
A loan move to Bayer Leverkusen at the end of August 2022 was seen as a mutually beneficial move, but one goal and one assist in 20 appearances for the Bundesliga club left him facing an uncertain future.
He started all six of Leverkusen’s Champions League group games, but his minutes dwindled as he fell further down the pecking order under Xabi Alonso.
Hudson-Odoi struggled to make an impact in Leverkusen
“We know Callum can play that position between the lines very well,” Alonso said in November 2022. “He has a good first touch and can attack the last line, be aggressive, but what happens after that is the most important thing. We.” You have to work on that.
At Forest, Espirito Santo’s consistent run of games in the starting XI has helped him become more ruthless in the area mentioned by Alonso.
Hudson-Odoi is expected to make his 100th Premier League appearance on Saturday; There would be no better way to mark his century than to fire Forest to safety against the side that let him go.
Watch Forest vs Chelsea live on Sky Sports Premier League on Saturday. Kick-off 5:30 p.m
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