There was once a time where Callum Hudson-Odoi was one of European football's most sought-after young talents. It wasn't even too long ago. All you need to do is rewind to 2019.
At the time, German football powerhouse Bayern Munich were doing everything in their power to sign the then-teenage talent. When a club of Bayern's stature come knocking, no matter the player, your situation needs to be at least considered.
Hudson-Odoi did consider the offer and even handed in a transfer request at Stamford Bridge. In the midst of all the speculation over his future in January 2019, Hudson-Odoi featured in Chelsea's FA Cup fourth-round win over Sheffield Wednesday – and the winger scored in the victory.
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During the game, Chelsea supporters in the Matthew Harding Stand made their feelings perfectly clear. A chant could be heard, saying: "We want you to stay. We want you to stay. Hudson-Odoi, we want you to stay!"
"We want him to stay! We were singing it [the chant] as well! We are playing him," Chelsea's former assistant manager Gianfranco Zola said after the game. "We believe in what he can do to this team. Yesterday [after handing in a transfer request], in training his attitude was excellent, he scored a fantastic goal."
Chelsea were insistent all window-long they did not want Hudson-Odoi to leave the club and they stood firm with their stance. The winger stayed and when the 2018/19 season concluded, Hudson-Odoi committed his future to Chelsea by signing a long-term contract until 2024.
It put to bed all the speculation over his future and he looked to be a big part of Chelsea's plans going forward. However, we're approaching three years since Hudson-Odoi's extension and it has not worked out as planned.
The Cobham graduate has made just 60 Premier League appearances in that time – averaging 20-per-campaign. Injury problems riddled his 2021/22 season, which didn't help this number, but either way, he would have expected to be one of Chelsea's star players by now.
We're now into the 2022/23 season and the 21-year-old is yet to make an appearance for Chelsea, albeit with only two matches being played so far. He was named on the bench in Sunday afternoon's dramatic 2-2 draw with Tottenham, but he wasn't even in the squad for the opening day victory over Everton at Goodison Park.
Hudson-Odoi is now pushing for a move away from Stamford Bridge before the transfer window closes in under two weeks' time, football.london understands. There's plenty of interest in the winger's services, with some coming from the Premier League, while Borussia Dortmund are also keeping an eye on his situation in London.
A number of reasons can be listed for why the last three years haven't been what Hudson-Odoi would have envisaged: Frequent injury problems, different managers with contrasting tactical mindsets, failure to pin down a position as his own. The frustrating thing for Chelsea supporters is his talent – which is clear for everyone to see – but it just isn't showing at the moment.
Hudson-Odoi may still go on and have a fantastic career. And that could still be with Chelsea. But something needs to change for the sake of his career. These last 13 days of the summer transfer window could very well shape his future.
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