Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi is in the midst of a £35 million tug of war between the club he has represented since the age of 7, and one of European football’s great powerhouses, Bayern Munich. Bayern are looking to make the talented 18-year-old the latest English wonderkid to swap the Premier League for the supposedly greener grass of the Bundesliga. But should he stay or should he go?  

Bayern Munich are prepared to make the fleet-footed winger their 3^rdmost expensive singing of all time, while reports out of Chelsea today suggest they are set to table a staggering £70.000 per-week contract offer to try and keep him with the Blues.

The fact that Bayern are willing to make the talented prospect one of their record signings, despite only making 13 senior appearances to date, is a testament to how highly rated the U-17 World Cup winner is rated in football circles. Furthermore, with Arjen Robben (34) and Franck Ribery (35) nearing the end of their contracts, as well as their careers, Hudson-Odoi looks to have a clear path to the first team in Bavaria.  

 

So, is he set to follow in the footsteps of Bourissa Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho, who swapped the sky blue of Manchester city for the black and yellow of Bourissa Dortmund last summer? According to Sancho, Hudson Odoi has asked his former England U-17 team mate about life in Germany. Sancho isn’t the only English player to make waves in Germany with Arsenal’s Reiss Nelson and Everton’s Ademola Lookman making waves for Hoffenheim and Leipzig, with young English forwards currently in vogue in Germany.

Chelsea have had a notoriously bad record for blooding youngsters into the first team with the last player to break through and secure a first team spot being John Terry over 20 years ago. With Hudson-Odoi only making 8 appearances so far this season, mostly in cup competitions, perhaps it may be time for him to move on to pastures new.

However, a closer look at the statistics suggest that Hudson-Odoi may buck the trend when it comes to Chelsea’s youth record. Only 3 players from England U-17’s World Cup winning squad have played more first team minutes than Hudson Odoi since the young lions triumphed in 2017, Premier League winner Phil Foden, England International Jadon Sancho and Wolves Morgan Gibbs-White, who played the majority of those minutes in England’s second division

Furthermore, his manager Maurizio Sarri has said the young forward is ready for Premier League minutes and now shares the same squad status as veterans Willian and Pedro. Whatever his next move, it should carefully considered if Hudson-Odoi is to capitalise on his huge potential. Although, perhaps the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.