Callum Hudson-Odoi increasingly wants to stay at Stamford Bridge and assurances he would be the man to replace outgoing Chelsea star Eden Hazard would help to ensure that he signs a new deal.
Hazard looks likely to leave for Real Madrid after he confirmed in an interview after the final Premier League match of the campaign at Leicester on Sunday that he ‘has made his decision’ regarding his future at the club.
Madrid have yet to agree a fee with the Blues for the Belgium international as they fight over a price between €100 million and €130m.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are trying to make Hudson-Odoi sign a new deal, having previously taken a strong stance in rejecting Bayern Munich’s four offers in January, even after he handed in a transfer request to try to force a transfer to Germany.
The 18-year-old’s desire to leave has softened after Maurizio Sarri gave him four Premier League starts in a row before he suffered an Achilles tendon rupture in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Burnley in April.
He underwent an operation in Spain and, now back in London, the England international wants to resolve his future but he has yet to have a contract offer from Chelsea with talks likely to proceed after the Europa League final on May 29.
Like Bayern Munich, Chelsea could offer Hudson-Odoi his preferred No.10 shirt which has been worn by Eden Hazard for the last seven years.
Bayern offered Hudson-Odoi the No.10 shirt that was worn by winger Arjen Robben, and a key role in their team as part of their January offer. They remain interested and could come back for the youngster if talks don’t progress well with Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia.
“I think the surgery went really well. Everything went perfectly as I wanted it to. I am really happy to win the award. I think the season went well and I feel that every time I have played I felt more confident and I enjoyed it,” Hudson-Odoi said at the Under the Bridge venue in west London.
“I enjoyed every moment of playing. I just need to keep working hard and hopefully get more opportunities.”
Chelsea’s decision to not start talks with Hudson-Odoi, and regarding other club issues, may be related to the transfer ban, which is likely to affect negotiations with some of their players.
