Callum Hudson-Odoi has spent the last three months or so away from Chelsea for the first time in his career. The young winger moved on loan to Bayer Leverkusen at the end of August in search of more first team opportunities.
The Cobham product did not make a Premier League appearance in the games before his departure and has found a new lease of life in the Bundesliga with nine appearances and six starts in the Champions League. The 22-year-old has helped Leverkusen turn their fortunes around since Xabi Alonso took charge in October.
The Spaniard has already described Hudson-Odoi as an important player but was hopeful and not certain he would have the forward to call upon for the whole of the season. With Chelsea replacing Thomas Tuchel with Graham Potter, it is not unthinkable a new coach would like to take stock of all of his options, particularly with a recall clause in place.
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However, Chelsea decided against activating that with Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes confirming Hudson-Odoi would remain at the Bay Arena for the remainder of the season.
“We assumed that Callum would stay, but now we also have the certainty that he will stay with us,” he said to German publication Bild. “We’re happy about that, because he’s a very important player for us.”
It' understandable, given the importance Hudson-Odoi placed on getting consistent gametime this term having struggled to make a significant impact during Tuchel's time in charge of the Blues. Having the trust of a coach can be important, and the Leverkusen loanee highlighted this earlier in the season.
"Regular football gives you consistency and the more games you play, the more consistent you become, the more 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's making me feel better."
In the aftermath of the revelation that Hudson-Odoi will remain in Germany, the Champions League-winner reaffirmed his quality and potential with the Bundesliga side. The youngster played the second half of his side's friendly with FC Zurich and provided two assists.
He first slotted in a tidy through-ball from the halfway line for Sardar Azmoun to finish before later delivering another from the left for Amine Adli to round off the scoring in a 4-1 win, after breaking with the ball from his own box.
While Hudson-Odoi will remain in Leverkusen for the rest of the season, the Blues have made it clear that they see a future for the star at Stamford Bridge. Todd Boehly told the winger as much before his departure.
"When a club is trying to get a player [on loan], they always want that option to buy at the end of the season," the Blues ace said. "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."
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