Callum Hudson-Odoi wants Chelsea to allow him to leave this week in a £35million move to Bayern Munich, insisting that he needs to play in order to develop as a player.
The 18-year-old, who is only now getting his chance under Maurizio Sarri since Bayern demonstrated their interest in him, wants to join the Bundesliga champions as they are in a rebuilding process, with wide players Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery quitting at the end of the season.
Bayern want Hudson-Odoi to be part of their immediate future whereas Chelsea, who have signed wide player Christian Pulisic for £58m, have previously stressed the need for patience.
Daily Mail | Callum Hudson-Odoi wants #Chelsea to allow him to leave this week in a £35m move to Bayern Munich, insisting that he needs to play in order to develop as a player. #CFC
— The Blues (@TheBlues___) January 13, 2019
Chelsea want to keep Hudson-Odoi and have urged him to sign a new deal, as his current contract runs out in 2020.
The Blues have indicated they will offer Hudson-Odoi a five-year deal, but at present specific financial details haven’t been discussed because the focus has been on where the player can develop best.
Having seen his friend Jadon Sancho, also 18, thrive at Borussia Dortmund, Hudson-Odoi has come to believe that the Bundesliga offers a better pathway than Chelsea can offer.
As such, it seems highly unlikely he will sign a deal, meaning Chelsea’s best chance of making significant money is to sell him this January as his value will plummet with just one year left on his deal.
The club is committed to bringing through a first-team player from their widely-admired academy, with Hudson-Odoi looking like being the first to make that leap since Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003.
However when Hudson-Odoi signed his first pro contract in 2018, his advisors made it clear that they would only commit up until 2020 as they were concerned at Chelsea’s poor record of bringing through youth team players.
Hudson-Odoi appears to have been caught in limbo between the dying days of the Antonio Conte regime and the opening months of Sarri’s reign, where establishing himself at new manager at the club and installing fresh tactics were the priority.
Callum Hudson-Odoi vs. Tottenham. He’s getting more and more confident as he plays regularly against top teams. Would be a huge mistake letting him anywhere. pic.twitter.com/OGD7oPJPWP
— B.L.🇭🇺 (@cfcfutBL) January 9, 2019
As such, Hudson-Odoi barely featured, even on the bench, after starting the Community Shield. He started his next game on November 29th in the Europa League, having played just 35 minutes of first-team football in the three months since the Community Shield.
That appears to have been the period in which he lost hope in Sarri’s commitment to develop him.