Chelsea all in on Callum Hudson-Odoi as they reject Willian-Malcom swap

Chelsea, on the surface, was crazy to reject a Willian-Malcom swap. But dig deeper and it looks like Chelsea is all in for Callum Hudson-Odoi.

If Chelsea is offered a package valued at £50 million for Willian with a Malcom swap is included in that value, is Chelsea crazy to turn that deal down? On the surface, yes absolutely, all day every day. So when Chelsea did turn that deal down, fans were understandably upset.

After all, Willian is the wrong side of 30 and a bad fit for Sarrismo. Malcom is much younger and even if he does not fit Sarrismo now, he could be groomed into the needed player. That deal seems like a steal on the part of Chelsea.

But not in a world where Chelsea wants to keep Callum Hudson-Odoi. It is unfortunate that a Willian-Malcom swap is as tempting as it is. But in the context of Hudson-Odoi, it only makes sense to say no.

Think about where Hudson-Odoi is professionally right now. He knows he needs to play, and he is looking around at who is blocking his path. The more players that block his path, the more appealing Bayern Munich appears. Competition for spots is fine and he surely understands that there will be some level of that everywhere. But competition for spots is different depending on the players involved.

Imagine being Hudson-Odoi and staying at Chelsea until the summer. In the summer, who would be easier competition: Eden Hazard, Willian, Pedro, and Christian Pulisic or Eden Hazard, Pedro, Christian Pulisic, and Malcom?

Take it a step forward and assume Hazard leaves too (because Chelsea will likely find it difficult to hold on to both Hudson-Odoi and Hazard). Is it better to compete against Willian, Pedro, and Pulisic for spots or Malcom, Pedro, and Pulisic? The answer is the former.

Hudson-Odoi has a fair chance at winning minutes over an aging Pedro and Willian. But if the club brings in Malcom, then Hudson-Odoi will be behind the 8 ball. For a normal 18 year old, being third out of two wingers (because Chelsea will not bring Pulisic in to bench him) is acceptable. But Hudson-Odoi is not a normal 18 year old. And he knows it.

Many will say it should not matter. If Hudson-Odoi is good enough, he will play. Of course, this season alone proves that is not the case. Hudson-Odoi has been good enough all year and it took an injury crisis and Bayern Munich to even consider giving him a shot.

The squad always needs quality, but at some point they need to actually trust the kids they have. It is easy to say “Hudson-Odoi is not ready, bring in Malcom” but all that does is further block the path. This situation played out before with Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku as the club kept bringing players that were better, but who just blocked their path.

Chelsea is rejecting this deal because they trust Hudson-Odoi. The reward for the risk is much greater. This is not a sign of the Blues being foolish. This is a sign of Chelsea finally trusting a kid to be good enough to close that talent gap in time. De Bruyne and Lukaku were not afforded that.

Hudson-Odoi is being afforded that. And if he is, the same can be held true for Reece James and Mason Mount further down the road. Dig deep enough, and the Blues made the right call.