Chelsea, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and dealing with poor choices

Information is still sparse but it seems clear that Callum Hudson-Odoi is in trouble. Chelsea will have to navigate his poor choices.

It is important to note that this is still very much a developing story. The original source is a poor one, but it has since been sifted through enough other sources that a few facts are now locked in. The rest is still unknown and the only thing left to do will be to speculate, which will not be happening in this article.

Early in the morning on 17 May, 2020, medical services were called to Callum Hudson-Odoi’s home. He had invited a woman over and she had begun to feel unwell. Shortly thereafter, police arrived and arrested Hudson-Odoi. The police returned later in the day to search the residence.

There is plenty that can be inferred from that but little that can be verified. Those are currently the only facts about the case itself. But it is clear that Hudson-Odoi made some bad choices and the club will now have to decide how to proceed.

Nearly every article about this incident makes mention of Hudson-Odoi being one of the first players to be a confirmed COVID-19 case. That was announced almost as soon as the Premier League halted but it was also confirmed in the same breath that he had recovered from it. It is brought up in every article not because it is directly relevant, but to imply that Hudson-Odoi of all players should know better than to break the lockdown.

Maybe he should, but there are plenty in the world taking it less seriously than the 19 year old. Furthermore, it seems as though that would be the least serious of the events to transpire that evening.

Chelsea will be most concerned about the arrest and the woman’s health. It is unknown if Hudson-Odoi is still in custody and the women’s status is also unknown. Depending on why the arrest occurred, Chelsea will have a serious decision on their hands. And regardless of why the arrest occurred, the club is sure to start looking into some sort of disciplinary proceedings.

Many want to bring up how much Hudson-Odoi is making on his new contract but it is not particularly relevant. It should not matter if he is a top earner or barely getting by at the club, the choices made by him remain the same. There will of course be the uproar about a 19 year old needing to be a role model, but that is shaky ground to stand on with so few facts confirmed.

This will surely continue to develop as players return to training and more information leaks. It is important to withhold judgement until something is confirmed; either by the club or by passing through enough sources.

The club itself will likely remain quiet for as long as possible, but they are sure to crack down on anything untoward that could tarnish their reputation as a club. They went out of their way to keep Hudson-Odoi in blue, but that stops if anything gets confirmed that the club cannot abide by. Otherwise, the Blues will back their man as this story develops.