Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi has been told to leave Stamford Bridge and join a different London club after Fabrizio Romano discussed his contract situation.
Hudson-Odoi is a product of the Chelsea academy. He made his first-team debut in January 2018 and has gone on to play 126 times for the club in all competitions, registering 16 goals and 22 assists.
When Hudson-Odoi was at the height of his Chelsea form, he was linked with a big-money move to Bayern Munich. But Chelsea rejected that offer as they viewed the Englishman as an important player for the future.
However, Hudson-Odoi fell down the pecking order after suffering an Achilles injury in March last year. He did not play again in the 2021-22 season and was subsequently loaned out to Bayer Leverkusen.
The 22-year-old, who has won three caps for England, went to Germany to try and rejuvenate his career but has not been able to do that. He has played in 21 matches across all competitions, though only one goal and one assist have come his way in that time.
Hudson-Odoi’s Chelsea contract runs until June 2024 and Romano recently issued the wide man a transfer ultimatum. In his column for CaughtOffside, the transfer expert wrote: ‘With just 12 months left on his deal, Chelsea have no intention of losing players for free, so for Hudson-Odoi – it’s extend deal or be sold.’
Former Liverpool and Aston Villa striker Stan Collymore has now given his verdict on the player’s future. He believes Hudson-Odoi should swap Chelsea’s project under Todd Boehly for Crystal Palace, where he could replace 30-year-old attacker Wilfried Zaha.
“My advice to him would be to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer and go to somewhere like Crystal Palace, who look like they’re going to lose Wilfried Zaha, in order to get his career back on track,” Collymore said during an interview with CaughtOffside.
Pundit tells Chelsea player to join Palace
“It’s very hard for a player who has been with a big club for so long to reinvent themselves, but Hudson-Odoi, at 22 years old, is not a kid anymore. He’ll be viewed as a senior professional so his next move will be a really important one in shaping the rest of his career.
“I do like the thought of him joining Palace though. That is a move, that to me, would make a lot of sense. They’re in London, they look like they’re going to need a new winger, the fees involved are likely to suit Palace’s budget and the pressure on him to succeed won’t be anywhere near as high as it is at Chelsea.”
Zaha has run down his Palace contract and is preparing to leave Selhurst Park on a free transfer in the summer. As Collymore suggests, Hudson-Odoi could be a good replacement. Due to his contract situation, he should not cost as much as in previous years.
The player himself would probably like to make such a transfer. He knows he will struggle to get into the Chelsea starting lineup when returning from Leverkusen. Even if Chelsea sell some wingers later this year, Hudson-Odoi would have to overcome the likes of Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke and Mykhaylo Mudryk to gain a starting spot.