All eyes on Chelsea’s training session ahead of their comprehensive win over Rennes in the Champions League, as Callum Hudson-Odoi was spotted in a very unusual pair of boots that combine the past with the present.

At first glance, Hudson-Odoi training in the adidas F50 Adizero from the 2010 World Cup pack was a cool throwback, but nothing more than that. But on closer inspection it became apparent that what the young Chelsea attacker was wearing was something quite a bit more special, taking the core aesthetics of that original, and combining it with some modern-day tech.

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Take a look and you can see that the upper of his boot is very similar to the original, from the black and yellow colourway, right down to the F50 branding. But it was on the underside that we got our first clue that this was something different, with not a hint of the yellow tipped studs of the F50 Adizero. That then prompted a closer inspection, and what became clear was that this was the Carbitex Speedframe soleplate of the X Ghosted .1 – the boot that Hudson-Odoi regularly wears – apparent from the cross weave patterning that travels across the underside and up onto the heel cup. The F50 Adizero by contrast always had a smooth soleplate and heel cup.

So what does this mean? Could be that Hudson-Odoi has requested this modification specifically from adidas, favouring the revolutionary, dynamic carbon fibre plate from the X Ghosted combined with the throwback flavour of the F50. But despite being immensely talented, it’s unlikely that a player of Hudson-Odoi’s current status would get this type of preferential treatment.  Another possibility comes in the timing. Is it a coincidence that this has appeared 10 years after the original? Possibly, but we’d place our bets on this potentially being a special release, and if that is the case, we reckon we’ll be seeing it anytime now.

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