Callum Hudson-Odoi is on the verge of finally leaving Chelsea to join Bayer Leverkusen on loan.
The 21-year-old has spent his entire footballing career at the club since the age of six and broke into the first team as a teenager under Maurizio Sarri in 2018. But in recent seasons, Hudson-Odoi has often found himself on a peripheries and constantly being linked with a move away.
Bayern Munich infamously had a £70million bid rejected two years ago, but now the Wandsworth-born star is set to link up with another German outfit in the form of Leverkusen. According to Sky Sports, Bayer have won the race to sign Hudson-Odoi on a season-long loan after as many as 20 clubs expressed an interest in earning his signature.
The player's father, Bismark Odoi, is said to be in advanced talks with the Bundesliga side, as all parties are keen to complete a deal ahead of next Thursday's deadline. Borussia Dortmund were named as one of the other interested clubs, but it's up-and-coming Swiss coach Gerardo Seoane who'll enjoy Hudson-Odoi's talents this term.
The winger had featured under Thomas Tuchel in pre-season but is yet to make a Premier League appearance in 2022-23. The Blues boss was asked ahead of Sunday's shock 3-0 defeat at Leeds United whether Hudson-Odoi would be leaving alongside Christian Pulisic, and Tuchel was reluctant to give a definitive answer on their futures.
"I know there are a lot of talks. We will also not comment on our players," the Chelsea manager stated. "We will not encourage our players to go out in the moment. We had now two training sessions with 18 players. In a schedule where we play once a week it is not a problem.
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"If I look a little bit, the chin up a little bit and look at the schedule that is coming with Southampton during the week and two Champions League matches, it's coming. It's in front of the door. We will need a lot of players and quality players to be competitive.
"At the moment, like I said, we have what we have. We know what we’re looking for. From there we go and only from there we can think about letting players go."
Both Hudson-Odoi and Pulisic are expected to leave, however, with the Blues hoping to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Anthony Gordon as replacements. Former Arsenal captain Aubameyang is close to joining from Barcelona, while Everton are looking to recoup as much as £60million for homegrown star Gordon.
