European teams are salivating to get the signature of England’s Hudson Odoi and Chelsea are looking reluctant to give him an extension of stay at the club.
No further talks are planned between Chelsea and England debutant Callum Hudson-Odoi until the summer, when he will have just one year left on his deal.
With Manchester United expected to join Bayern Munich this summer in bidding for the 18-year-old, who made his England debut against Montenegro on Monday, Chelsea face the dilemma of whether to cash in or run the risk of losing him for minimal compensation of their training costs at the end of his contract in 2020.
The club and his family, who are handling negotiations, have not had substantive talks since Bayern Munich made their last bid of £35m for the player, which came on January 30th, the day before the transfer window closed.
It was agreed then that talks would resume in the summer and though it is expected that Chelsea will up their current offer to around £100,000-a-week, it has been made clear to Chelsea throughout negotiations that the money on offer is less important that the development opportunities the club can provide over the next few years.
Maurizio Sarri’s lukewarm comments about Hudson-Odoi on Friday, in which he praised the youngster for some aspects of his game but criticised others, suggested that he is yet to win the full trust of the Chelsea manager and he is expected to start on the bench today at Cardiff.
Hudson-Odoi was boosted by a congratulatory phone call from England manager Gareth Southgate, the day after he had made his debut with Montengero, an occasion which had been soured by racist abuse of the home crowd.
The winger is understood to have been enthused by the encouragement he received by Southgate and his assistant, Steve Holland, who Hudson-Odoi knows from his time at Chelsea, during his week’s training.
Hudson-Odoi now has played 110 minutes for England, including his first start against Montenegro, and 119 minutes this season in the Premier League, where he is yet to start a game for Chelsea.
Sarri pointed out on Friday that it was easier for the England manager to start a youngster against Montenegro than against a Premier League side.
Sarri did start the 18-year-old against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup semi-final but otherwise his starts have been limited to the Europa League and the FA Cup.