‘Key player’ will not make Chelsea return in January

Robin Bairner

• 17 Dec 2022 16:15 GMT
• 3 min read

It has been confirmed that Callum Hudson-Odoi will not return to Chelsea during the January transfer window by Bayer Leverkusen.

The winger has been sent on loan to the Bundesliga side for the course of the season but there had been some talk that he might return to Stamford Bridge during the winter transfer period.

Hudson-Odoi, who is valued at €36 million by FootballTransfers, has been successful in Germany so far, featuring in 15 of 17 possible matches since making a transfer at the end of the summer window. During that time, he has one goal, which was scored in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid, and also has an assist to his name, too.

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Leverkusen director of sport Simon Rolfes is delighted to have received confirmation that he will be going nowhere before the season is out.

Speaking to the media, he confirmed: “We assumed that Callum would stay, but now we also have the certainty that he will stay until the end of the season. We’re very happy, he’s a key player for us.”

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An unfulfilled talent?

For Hudson-Odoi, meanwhile, this adventure in Germany marks his first experience away from Chelsea, where he came through the academy.

Unlike many of the Blues’ graduates, though, he was fast-tracked into the first team instead of being included in the club’s famous loan army.

Indeed, he was only 16 when he made his debut in the Premier League and has since gone on to make 72 appearances in the competition.

There is a sense, though, that Hudson-Odoi has not fulfilled his potential at Chelsea, where his attitude as been questioned at times.

The hope is that this loan spell will allow him to mature and also to experience regular first-team football in a bid to bring his game on.

Still just 22, Hudson-Odoi’s contract expires in June 2024, meaning that Chelsea could either sell him in the summer or potentially give him a new deal.