Chelsea face an uphill battle to keep Callum Hudson-Odoi at the club, as suitors Bayern Munich are set to make another approach in the summer.
If reports from The Sun are to be believed, the Callum Hudson-Odoi to Bayern Munich transfer saga is far from over, as the German champions are set to come back with another bid for the Chelsea wonderkid in the summer, having failed to sign him in January.
The teenage sensation was being pursued vehemently by Bayern throughout the winter transfer window. The Bavarians saw multiple bids knocked down by Chelsea for their academy product, leading to Hudson-Odoi handing in a transfer request in order to force through a move to Germany.
However, Chelsea outright rejected the 18-year-old’s transfer request. The Blues’ manager Maurizio Sarri then went on to claim that Hudson-Odoi should respect the academy and stay put at the club, rather than seeking a transfer.
“Of course, he’s a very great player. He will become one of the best in Europe — but he has to respect the work of the academy coaches. If you are one of the best young players in Europe, maybe the academy helped you. So you have to respect this,” the Italian said, as quoted by The Sun.
However, Bayern are set to revive their interest in the Chelsea academy graduate once again in the summer, as they look for long-term replacements for Arjen Robben, who is set to depart from the club at the end of the season and Franck Ribery, whose contract will also run out in May.
Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic remains determined to get his target ahead of the next season. Club president Uli Hoeness said: “The only one Hasan would have liked to buy was this player from Chelsea. I have to say that he nearly fell in love with this player and his qualities.”
Having made an offer worth £40 million for Hudson-Odoi in the winter window, the Bavarian giants are of the belief that a bid of £25 million would be enough to convince Chelsea to part with the teenager, as he would be entering the final year of his contract with the club.
Chelsea had made a new contract offer to their academy graduate, worth a staggering £85,000-a-week in wages, only to see it get rejected by him.
Hudson-Odoi has featured just 11 times for the Chelsea senior team this term, in which he has scored twice and assisted three more goals. The youngster remains keen on moving to Germany in search of game time, following in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho, who left Manchester City and has become a huge success at Borussia Dortmund.
With Bayern very much likely to come back with an offer, Chelsea are facing a battle at their hands to keep the talented Hudson-Odoi at the club beyond this season. They have time to convince the 18-year-old to sign a new contract between now and the end of the season, but should they fail to do so, a summer move to Allianz Arena looks inevitable.
