Maurizio Sarri has again sought to shut down questions over Callum Hudson-Odoi’s first-team involvement for Chelsea.
Head coach Sarri recently accused fans and the media of putting too much pressure on Hudson-Odoi by focusing on the youngster.
And Sarri gave another terse response when asked at a press conference if Hudson-Odoi would feature in the Europa League game against Dynamo Kiev.
“Why not (Ethan) Ampadu? Tell me the difference,” Sarri said.
“I have a lot of players of course. I know very well that for you (the media) Odoi is the best, but for me I want to see them all at the same level.
“Odoi is doing very well in the last period. He will be for sure in the 18 – maybe on the pitch, I don’t know.
“But I want to send to my team the message that the match is very important. I don’t want to make a mistake in this.
“As you know, in the last match Odoi was the first change. So you know very well that Odoi is on my mind for every match.”
Sarri also said he was “not worried” about reports suggesting that Zinedine Zidane’s return as Real Madrid boss means Eden Hazard is more likely to leave Chelsea for the Spanish club.