CALLUM HUDSON-ODOI
Truth be told, there aren’t that many photos of Callum Hudson-odoi in his civvies. While his name is well-whispered among clued-up football fans, he’s not yet at the point where Mail Online hounds tail him in Westfield. But even at 18, the young man sometimes known as CHO is already cementing a personal style for himself – one that is seen mainly on the pitch, yet also goes beyond the football itself.
There are myriad ways you can express your style without walking around town in an outlandish Balenciaga coat, and Hudson-odoi is managing that. The most notable aspect of his style at this moment in time is the haircut. In recent years, many young footballers have opted for a Kid ’n Play-esque flat-top, but whereas Jadon Sancho’s looks a bit goofy, Hudson-odoi’s is clean, tight, impeccable, with a shock of copper on top that makes him instantly recognisable the minute he’s on the ball. In the context of his status as an exciting winger, that haircut loads an easily-missed young player with a great deal more presence than he might otherwise have had.
His haircut is just one of many indicators that show us how well this young man understands his talent (or fancies himself, depending on how you see it). At an age when he’s barely old enough to drive, he’s already given himself an iconic cut – the kind that Alex Ferguson would’ve said you have to earn.
But Callum Hudson-odoi is a very modern phenomenon. Taking cues from videogame characters, MMA fighters and Youtube stars, that hairdo is a visual marker, which probably adds nearly as much to his value as his assists and completed dribbles. It’s a Valderrama perm for a generation reared on orange boots.
Beyond the hair, Hudson-odoi just looks cool, even when he’s forced to wear some pretty heinous recent Chelsea kits. With a confident posture, a body like an Oscar statue and the grin of a young man with the world at his feet, he could probably make a tarpaulin poncho look good. In the only real fashion shoot he’s done, for Gaffer magazine, the teenager pulled off a few garish Burberry and Moncler pieces in a manner that would look awkward or ungainly on many a player.
He could well have a few fashion disasters to come, as all young men with a lick of talent do, but Lord knows he’ll ride them out a lot better than the rest of us would – certainly better than Harry Maguire would. But, as with all of these players, true style icon status has its foundations in the pitch.