There haven't been many players breaking through the academy that have excited Chelsea supporters as much as Callum Hudson-Odoi. When he made his senior debut for the club back in January 2018, with so much said about the speedy winger.
A year after making his senior debut for the Blues, Bayern Munich were in for the now-21-year-old. Naturally, a club of Bayern's size requires attention from the player, and he handed in an official transfer request to push the move through.
Chelsea, though, were stubborn and were determined to keep hold of – what they viewed as – one of their top youngsters. The Blues genuinely believed that the London-born wide man had the ingredients to develop into a world-class player at Stamford Bridge.
READ MORE: The curious case of Callum Hudson-Odoi: What happened to Chelsea's once in-demand wonderkid?
That's why, in the summer of 2019, Chelsea tied Hudson-Odoi down to fresh terms. The club were willing to pay the Cobham graduate mega money to persuade him to stay. It worked, and Chelsea now had an extremely promising youngster on their hands for the foreseeable future.
However, if we fast-forward three years, things look very different for Hudson-Odoi. He'd be the first to admit that his development has been hampered by injury problems, and he is not at the level he would have hoped he was by now.
He's now at somewhat of a crossroads in his career. The Chelsea winger wants to leave Stamford Bridge this summer, football.london understands, and there are plenty of options for him to consider.
The most advanced of those options is a switch to Germany to play for Bayer Leverkusen. Die Werkself are extremely interested in Hudson-Odoi and have held talks with the winger's entourage over a loan move earlier in the week.
Hudson-Odoi currently has just less than two years remaining on his contract at Chelsea, and a season elsewhere would mean he returns to the west London club in a fragile position – in relation to his value. The Premier League to Bundesliga has been a successful route in recent history. See Jadon Sancho and Jamal Musiala, in particular, for example.
Sancho moved from Manchester City's academy to Borussia Dortmund back in August 2017. Dortmund paid just £10million for the England international's signature, and he would go on to take the German top-flight by storm.
The 22-year-old scored 38 goals and assisted 51 times for the Black and Yellow in 104 Bundesliga games, meaning he averaged a direct goal involvement in almost every match. Sancho's astonishing form for Dortmund saw him linked with a Premier League return virtually every summer transfer window.
Finally, after years of speculation, Sancho returned to England in the summer of 2021, where he signed for Manchester United for a fee in the region of £73m. His first season was a slow one, but he looks set to kick on this time around in the Premier League.
Another example Hudson-Odoi could look to emulate is former Chelsea youngster Jamal Musiala. The Cobham youth product signed for Bayern Munich in the summer of 2019 and spent the majority of his first season with the German club's second team, where he helped win the 3. Liga title.
Musiala did, though, make his Bundesliga debut at the end of the 2019/20 season, and he then went on to establish himself as a regular member of the German outfit's squad. In March 2021, Musiala committed his future at the Allianz Arena – signing a long-term contract with the club.
The Germany international has started this season off with a bang. The 19-year-old has already struck three goals in just two appearances in the Bundesliga so far this term.
It's a proven route to success. Switching the Premier League to the Bundesliga has been done, and it has worked well. Hudson-Odoi's departure may upset some Chelsea supporters – who had such high hopes for him at the club – but it certainly looks like one in the best interest of the winger.
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