This is Callum Hudson-Odoi’s moment and Chelsea must react accordingly

Callum Hudson-Odoi is dominating Chelsea media. This is his moment, for better or worse, and Chelsea must react accordingly.

For once, Eden Hazard is not the Chelsea player dominating the headlines. In fact, Hazard’s fallen off the earth compared to the attention Callum Hudson-Odoi is receiving.

It is clear to see why. Hudson-Odoi is different than most Chelsea academy graduates. He is not some young, often over hyped player that deserves a shot by virtue of being from the academy. No, Hudson-Odoi is very much the real deal. Perhaps more so than Chelsea has ever seen from an academy product.

And when one of the world’s best run clubs comes calling for an 18 year old with barely any professional experience, people tend to take notice. The world is very much at Hudson-Odoi’s feet. This is his moment and the Blues must react accordingly.

While some were away at the World Cup, Hudson-Odoi was putting in the work during preseason. He had one of, if not the best preseason showings under Maurizio Sarri. It was expected that the winger would see plenty of minutes in the cups and Europa League. He did not.

This may have sparked some itchy feet. Chelsea is notoriously hard to break into under the best of circumstances. So despite Hudson-Odoi’s upbringing with the club, he had to consider his career. That is where Bayern Munich have come in.

Bayern Munich is arguably one of the world’s best run clubs (the other being Juventus). They simply do not make mistakes when it comes to players. So when they earmarked Hudson-Odoi as a transfer target as part of their rebuild, it was noteworthy. Attention from a club that virtually guarantees yearly trophies and Champions League with a clear path to the first team? That is very hard to fight against.

One silver lining of Chelsea’s current injury issues has been that Sarri’s hand has been forced. He has had to call on Hudson-Odoi. And Hudson-Odoi has answered. The player has not had difficult opponents (yet), but he has looked a class above his teammates.

And now Hudson-Odoi has a decision to make. Bayern is a great temptation. The only way to keep Hudson-Odoi from considering it is to play him. And not just in the short term but in the long term.

It does Chelsea no good to play Hudson-Odoi often in January and then push him back to the periphery the rest of the season. That may stop Bayern in January, but it will not stop Bayern overall. And Chelsea has to realize that if they cannot offer Hudson-Odoi plenty of playing time, then Bayern has an advantage in every other category.

Yes, this means Chelsea has to bend to the will of an 18 year old. No, it is never good to jump through so many hoops for any player (whether that be Hazard or Hudson-Odoi). But Chelsea can build the future around Hudson-Odoi. And if Hudson-Odoi can make it, then the next upcoming academy graduate can make it too. But if Hudson-Odoi leaves, what is to stop the rest of the academy from jumping ship as well?

This is Hudson-Odoi’s moment. Two of the world’s biggest clubs want him. Chelsea needs to show that they will pave the way for him. If done right, Bayern will be left for other options and Chelsea will have made their Hazard replacement or partner for the future.