Chelsea star and academy graduate Callum Hudson-Odoi is set to leave Stamford Bridge this summer in a loan exit before the end of the transfer window. The youngster's move will be with a view of progressing his career further, having struggled to do so in recent seasons.
The 21-year-old has suffered with a mixture of different issues in the previous year in particular. One of those is struggling to find a place in Thomas Tuchel's system, which relies on wing-backs and narrow forwards - with the youngster more of a traditional winger than either of those roles.
The other problem has come in the fitness department, with injury leaving the England youth international ruled out for 14 games last season. In all, it left Hudson-Odoi making just 28 first-team appearances across the campaign, racking up 1,794 minutes of competitive action.
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Despite the lack of a guaranteed spot in the team around the injury, the winger was still full of praise for Tuchel in an interview he did with the Daily Mail back in February: "The manager is a very good guy, tactically he’s amazing. He knows how to get the best out of each player, sometimes it might be in a way that you don’t want to hear it or he might be shouting in a way that you think: 'Why are you shouting so much on the touchline?'
"At the same time he wants what is best for the team. Sometimes it’s hard to understand and you think to yourself: 'Can you calm down a little bit and stop shouting as much?!'"
With injury ending last season prematurely for the forward, he made an early return to Cobham along with Ben Chilwell to try and build up fitness in time for the new Premier League campaign. However, with the transfer deadline looming, it appears a decision has been made over his immediate future.
According to the Evening Standard, a loan switch to Bayer Leverkusen is set to go through for the remainder of the 2022/23 season. The report claims the decision was taken with careful consideration for the destination, with claims of Premier League interest for the youngster.
A separate report earlier in the window claimed that London rivals Arsenal were interested in a shock move, however that failed to materialise. The Blues will be hoping his venture in Germany can help him realise close to his potential for his return to the team again next year.
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