Bayern Munich made another offer for Callum Hudson-Odoi, one which Chelsea could calmly reject. The amount was much less than those in January, and the source of Hudson-Odoi’s discontent is gone.
Sky Sports ran with a rapidly fisked report on Friday that Chelsea and Callum Hudson-Odoi were still some distance apart on the terms of his contract extension. Against the backdrop of an earlier story that Bayern Munich had made another offer for Hudson-Odoi, they created drama where there is none. In fact, there is less than ever.
For starters, Bayern’s offer was around £22 million, down from £30 million in January. The drop reflects a combination of Hudson-Odoi’s injury, the premium to the potential selling club for a January transfer and the buyer’s improved market position in the summer (more options, less desperate).
Bayern clearly learned the wrong lesson, if any, from their January efforts. Chelsea thought so highly of Callum Hudson-Odoi that someone did when someone had to do to make Maurizio Sarri give Hudson-Odoi regular playing minutes in all competitions. Hudson-Odoi played more in January than in the previous four months combined, and after a slight dip in February was a regular in the squad until he was injured. Danke, not grazie, is in order.
The confluence of those circumstances, the transfer ban, Maurizio Sarri’s departure, Eden Hazard’s transfer and the imminent hiring of Frank Lampard, meant Bayern Munich went the wrong direction with their offer, even with Hudson-Odoi’s injury.
Unlike in January, Chelsea now have time – all circumstances, really – on their side. While they shouldn’t needlessly string out the negotiations, they do not need to rush and certainly not pressure Hudson-Odoi to sign his extension. Previous attempts to push an extension on Hudson-Odoi seemed like a multiple round trip ticket for the loan army. Their interest in him in January was driven by their interest in fending off Bayern Munich.
The club landed on the right solution. Instead of pressuring Hudson-Odoi or, worse, letting him leave, they pressured Maurizio Sarri and, even better, let him leave.
Hudson-Odoi pounced on the opportunity Bayern Munich presented him to earn his way into future Chelsea XI’s. Once he is fully recovered from injury he will enter the rotation on equal footing with Willian and Pedro. The starting spot will be theirs to lose, as part of Lampard’s mandate is to set the club up for a homegrown future via players like Hudson-Odoi. Before long, Hudson-Odoi could be the regular starter with those veterans in substitute and lower competition roles.
Everything is in line for Callum Hudson-Odoi to have the future people foresaw last summer, following his promising debut under Antonio Conte and his involvements in preseason. By Chelsea standards, a one year hiccup in a youngster’s development is a roaring success. Hudson-Odoi lost time at the beginning of the season through underuse and at the end of the season through injury.
He will miss the beginning of this season, as well, but that should be the start of his next chapter at Stamford Bridge, a near-given, regardless of when he and the club finally put pen to paper and stage a photo op of him doing so.