Reports have emerged on how Chelsea chiefs supposedly forced Maurizio Sarri to play Callum Hudson-Odoi when he was in charge.

The 18-year-old wasn’t initially in the plans of Sarri who now manages Juventus.

But the revelation was made by Piet de Visser, who is an adviser to Roman Abramovich, report The Sun.

He told De Volksrant: “I told Chelsea: ‘Never lose Hudson-Odoi, he will be the new [Eden] Hazard.’

“But Marina [Granovskaia, Chelsea chief executive] said: ‘He didn’t want to sign’.

“And you know why not? Because Sarri didn’t play him.

“Then Sarri was instructed to deploy him, and he was their best player. And he signed for four years.”

Hudson-Odoi put pen to paper on a new five-year deal after Frank Lampard took the reins.