Callum Hudson-Odoi has opened up on the role Todd Boehly had when he decided to move from Chelsea to Bayer Leverkusen on a season-long loan deal.
The 21-year-old Cobham graduate made the switch from west London to west-central Germany towards the end of the summer transfer window. The Bundesliga club brought the winger in on a season-long loan deal, but there is no clause in the contract to make the move permanent.
It's something Chelsea co-owner Boehly was adamant to not include in the deal, as Hudson-Odoi has now revealed to the Daily Mail. It's the attention to detail that was perhaps missing from Roman Abramovich's tenure at the club. Boehly seems to be far more involved, which is to be expected considering he was the interim sporting director over the summer.
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"It's definitely different," Hudson-Odoi said. "When a club is trying to get a player [on loan], they always want that option to buy at the end of the season. Todd was saying: 'Listen, we want you back here.'
"You're still on the radar of being wanted by the club. The way he's trying to set it up, there are a lot of young players he's trying to buy for the next few years. It shows he wants to integrate the players into the team and help them develop."
Hudson-Odoi also detailed his decision to leave Chelsea. He confessed that it was a "difficult moment" when he was left out of the squad to take on Everton on the opening weekend of the season and he was unsure what he was doing wrong at Chelsea.
The winger added: "It was one of those difficult moments when you look at yourself and say: 'What am I doing wrong? Have I done anything wrong to not even be in the squad?'.
"I would never say anything bad about Thomas [Tuchel], he was a good guy, a good manager. [But] the first game of the season, it was frustrating. Any footballer that isn't in the squad would understand how frustrating it is.
"Regular football gives you consistency and the more games you play, the more consistent you become. The more the form starts to kick in.
"You feel fresher, you feel better, you feel like... not that you're getting treated fairly but that you've got the trust from the manager to push you and kick you on. You don't want to be on the bench thinking: 'Why am I not playing?', and then it becomes weeks and weeks and the legs are rusty when you do play.
"The most important thing is consistent football. That's what I'm getting here and it is making me feel better.
"Right now, playing games, momentum is kicking on and you feel refreshed: new country, brand-new experience. It's definitely refreshing to know I get an opportunity to play games week in and week out, enjoying it and smiling."
Hudson-Odoi has played five times for Leverkusen since moving to the club, with three of them coming in the Bundesliga and two in the Champions League. The Chelsea loanee is enjoying his football and Boehly and now Graham Potter, will be hoping he can come back a different player next summer.
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