Once upon a time in football, there was patience. Players would serve their apprenticeship, whether that be scrubbing the boots of a role model or spending at least a year in the hustle and bustle of the lower leagues where the sport was not so easy on the eye.

Nowadays, everyone - players, clubs, agents, supporters, the lot - want instant success. In fact, they expect instant success if they see a prodigy's name bandied about on the back of a newspaper or on social media.

Hype goes into overdrive, on many occasions to the detriment of the player who is whisked uncontrollably along a conveyor belt.

That was the case with Callum Hudson-Odoi. When people think about his emergence in the first team, they associate a struggle for game time under Maurizio Sarri, but it was Antonio Conte who handed him his first-team debut shortly after his 17th birthday.

Four substitute appearances during the second half of 2017-18 were ideal for someone at that stage of his development, but it was not long before Hudson-Odoi went mainstream.

The teenager raised eyebrows with his performances during his club's International Champions Cup fixtures in pre-season, and pressure was quickly piled on new boss Sarri to use a player still short of his 18th birthday on a regular basis.

Back then, Chelsea's academy system was not reaping the same rewards as it does today. The cynics would argue that Ruben Loftus-Cheek served a purpose as a homegrown talent to meet squad eligibility, but Hudson-Odoi was soon seen as the standard bearer.

He almost became a novelty act with Chelsea supporters not used to having such high hopes for one of their own becoming a mainstay in the team.

Again, though, that was to Hudson-Odoi's detriment, particularly when you had a stubborn Italian in his sixties having to fend off questions about his senior novice every single week.

When you delve through the statistics, Hudson-Odoi made 12 starts and 12 substitute appearances that season - a total of 10 coming in the Premier League - and it was perceived that he had been somewhat starved of opportunities.

A transfer request was handed in mid-season and suffering a momentum-halting Achilles injury during the back end of that campaign only made matters worse.

Bayern Munich were lurking in the background, going on the charm offensive with multiple bids in excess of £20m, and it left Chelsea in a constant battle with Hudson-Odoi's representatives when it came to signing a new contract.

A completely bizarre set of events, but one born out of his family's fear that their flesh and blood would become the next promising Blues academy graduate to not fulfil his potential.

Having won the Europa League that season, Sarri was harshly sacked. There can be no denying that, but making that decision at that time changed the future of Chelsea forever.

For all the mocking of Frank Lampard being appointed as Sarri's replacement, for all the consequences of a transfer ban, that judgment call set Chelsea on a road to where they are today, and encouraged Hudson-Odoi to take a step back from the hullabaloo which accompanied his every performance.

His Achilles injury was devastating at the time, but it was the blessing in disguise that he needed to set him on the right path.

Let's not beat around the bush: Nothing has been plain-sailing for club or player since he finally signed a five-year contract.

Fewer than half of Hudson-Odoi's starts for Chelsea have come in the Premier League, there have been question marks about his application and commitment in training, and an off-the-field issue threatened to push him further into the shadows.

Again though, every move was scrutinised and at 100mph, too, and perfection was being expected from a player based on a reputation forged from being thrust into the spotlight.

At the time, Lampard was perfect for Hudson-Odoi, both for his maturity as a player and a person. Everything did not go swimmingly, but Lampard put the building blocks in place to keep him on the right path.

Effective performances were few and far between - helping Chelsea fight back from a three-goal deficit at West Bromwich Albion in September 2020 was probably the highlight - but they served as a reminder that there was a player waiting to be unleashed, someone who had what it takes to reach new heights after a number of false dawns.

Thomas Tuchel kept the ball rolling upon his arrival in January this year, but not in the way that Hudson-Odoi would have envisaged.

While he had always been versatile in the final third, being deployed as a wing-back in Tuchel's first game in charge was different in the extreme. It was a risk on the German's part, but it also encouraged responsibility in Hudson-Odoi straight from the off.

A happy accident, maybe, with it now becoming apparent that Tuchel likes his wing-backs to spend the majority of their time on the pitch in the opposition half, but it kept the ball rolling.

Like with Antonio Rudiger and Jorginho, Hudson-Odoi suddenly had a purpose and was being told to deliver more than he had previously been unprepared to give.

Like Sarri had to cope with during Hudson-Odoi's early days, the player is a constant subject for Tuchel in his press conferences. To his credit, Tuchel has no qualms in talking up his players or openly criticising them.

He is strategic, personable and unwavering in his desire to get every last drop of potential and quality out of everyone that he works with. While he may not fully realise it yet, he has been a dream for the Wandsworth-born man.

On a day when Hudson-Odoi turns 21, there should be a point of reflection.

He has made 109 appearances for his boyhood club, contributing 14 goals and 18 assists, yet there will be those who will only dish out a C-minus when it comes to assessing his time in the senior ranks at Chelsea. Madness.

Even when Hudson-Odoi is producing his most consistent run in a Chelsea shirt, there are other Blues academy graduates who are held in far higher regard, but a sense of perspective is required.

Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah and Mason Mount all honed their craft away from Stamford Bridge until the time was right. Hudson-Odoi did not have that luxury, yet he is still standing alongside mates that he grew up with and deservedly holding down a starting spot in the best team in Europe.

Not bad, you would say, for a player whose patience and tolerance has been tested during the developmental years of his career, and Chelsea will hope that the best is still to come.