Eden Hazard on Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi: 'He Is a Great Player Already'

Eden Hazard has joked he was better than 18-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi at the same age after the teenager finally made his first start for Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday.

The Englishman impressed with an assist in the Blues' 3-0 Premier League win over Brighton & Hove Albion as Chelsea fans finally got what they wanted from manager Maurizio Sarri:

The Stamford Bridge faithful have been desperate to see more of Hudson-Odoi since he was heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich back in January—and even more so since his impressive England debut last month.

Hazard revealed he has advised the teenager to "stay humble," but he was full of praise for his Chelsea team-mate, per Nizaar Kinsella of Goal:

"[I was] better I think. I don't need to talk. If he wants to ask me something, I will tell him, no problem, but he is a great player already. I am not surprised. Since day one he trained with us, he had great skills. If he wants advice, I can teach him, but you know he has everything already. I think the guy was waiting to start a game in the Premier League, but he is ready. You can see the way he is taking the ball. He is playing with a lot of confidence.

"He is still young and can improve, of course, but he is already very good. I think he was happy to play today. You know when you are young you just play, and sometimes you try and miss, but the good thing is to give freshness in the team.

"I think Callum can play three games. He can run, he has the legs for 90 minutes. At 28 we are a bit tired at the end, but I think he is still young. As I said, he can still improve, but he is in a good team to learn, and we are happy to help him."

Hudson-Odoi is enjoying a similar rise to prominence as Hazard, 28, did when he was a teenager.

Both made their senior professional debuts at 17, and the Belgian also had major clubs interested in him:

It will be fascinating to see whether Hudson-Odoi can make good on his potential like Hazard has over the past decade.

Sarri finally including him in a Premier League starting XI could be a significant moment.

Chelsea have looked laboured for much of the 2018-19 season, but the former Napoli boss has been fairly rigid about his system and starting XI.

On Wednesday, Sarri rung the changes from Sunday's barely deserved win against Cardiff City.

Hazard and N'Golo Kante were back in starting XI after being rested. But, most significantly, Hudson-Odoi and Ruben Loftus-Cheek came in, along with Olivier Giroud, who replaced Gonzalo Higuain as No. 9. 

And it worked, as Chelsea produced a fine display to leapfrog Manchester United into fifth in the Premier League, tied on points with fourth-placed Arsenal.

The Blues are back in action against West Ham United on Monday, when Sarri will have a decision to make over whether to revert to the norm.