Callum Hudson-Odoi has handed in a formal transfer request at Chelsea in a bid to force through a move to Bayern Munich before Thursday’s transfer deadline. The teenager, a product of the Premier League club’s academy at Cobham, has been the subject of a succession of bids over the last month from the Bundesliga champions, the last of which amounted to around £35m for a player who has yet to make a top-flight start and whose current contract expires in 2020.
That offer remains on the table despite Chelsea having made clear it would not be sufficient to secure the 18-year-old, though another raised bid is anticipated before the cut-off at the end of the month.The England junior international, who won the under-17s World Cup two years ago, has been frustrated by a perceived lack of opportunities under Maurizio Sarri and had made clear he had no interest in signing new terms at Stamford Bridge despite suggestions the club might be willing to offer him as much as £80,000-a-week to extend his stay. Instead, Hudson-Odoi believes he will have more opportunities to play senior football at Bayern, having seen the impact Jadon Sancho and Reiss Nelson have made in the Bundesliga, with Borussia Dortmund and Hoffenheim respectively, this term.
Hudson-Odoi has made nine first-team appearances this season, starting four times in the Europa League and Carabao Cup, but has yet to begin a Premier League match. He would have expected to be picked for Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie against Sheffield Wednesday, but his inclusion would now seem in serious doubt in the wake of his formal request to leave.
Chelsea had grown frustrated with Bayern’s very public pursuit of Hudson-Odoi, with Sarri suggesting they had shown a lack of respect after the German club’s sporting director, Hasan Salihamidzic, admitted their desire to secure the player. “I think that it’s not professional because they are talking about a player under contract at Chelsea,” said Sarri, who has consistently suggested Hudson-Odoi has improved under his tutelage while implying the youngster still has plenty to learn.
It remains to be seen how Chelsea deal with the request – their desire to retain Hudson-Odoi has been steadfast up to now – though there is the chance that he joins Álvaro Morata as another high-profile departure from the club in the coming days. The Spain international forward, once a record signing, is in Madrid to complete the formalities over a loan move to Atlético following Gonzalo Higuaín’s arrival at Stamford Bridge. The move can be made permanent for around £48.5m in the summer.