Callum Hudson-Odoi has opted to stay put in West London, with reports suggesting he has agreed to a new deal with £100,000 per week.
This is surely incredible news for any Chelsea fan, especially after watching their best player make the move to the Spanish capital to usher in a new age of Galacticos in Madrid. Luckily, they did secure the services of American star Christian Pulisic in the January transfer window, before their transfer ban was put into place. But, with Hudson-Odoi now on a new 5-year deal, Chelsea fans can sleep a bit better at night, knowing they have an incredible talent for the present, and future, of their club.
Already Making A Difference
Last season was a season where Hudson-Odoi really started to make a name for himself. He scored more goals, and played a bigger role in the first team, which attracked interest from multiple big clubs across Europe. This put him in a position to ask for a new deal wth improved terms. In the Europa League last season, he played nine matches and scored four goals, and added an assist in ten appearances in the Premier League. Maybe he will even bring some of those European goals to the bigger stage, the Champions League! Along with this, he got his first senior call up to the Three Lions in March. During the January transfer window, Chelsea had to reject numerous bids from Bayern Munich after the player himself was looking to make the move to the Bavarians, but they managed to get him to stay, and they gave themselves some more time to convince the 18 year-old that his future was at Chelsea.
If manager Frank Lampard sets up in a 4-3-3, as he did so often with Derby County, then you will likely see both Hudson-Odoi and Pulisic lighting up the wings, hopefully both starting after Hudson-Odoi returns from injury and Pulisic gets accustomed to the speed and physicality of the Premier League. It also means that, duuring their transfer ban, the player can continue to develop into a top attacking talent, the type of player that Chelsea would have needed to get in the market next summer, and pay a large sum of money for, had Hudson-Odoi not extended his contract. They can instead focus on other problematic areas that may pop up in the next 9 months throughout the season. As an added bonus, he is yet another homegrown player to be included in the squad, if they ever run into trouble with the Homegrown Player Rule.
View this post on InstagramHE’S HOME! @FrankLampard is the new Chelsea head coach! #WelcomeHomeFrank #CFC #Chelsea
With Willian (30) and Pedro (31) both entering the latter stages of their careers, Callum Hudson-Odoi is getting exactly what he wanted. It seemed he was only looking for assurances over playing time, assurances he was not getting from Maurizio Sarri. Now, with Frank Lampard in charge, the youngster can feel a lot better about getting the game-time that he (and I) feel he deserves. Surely, if he continues to develop at the rate he has been, sky is the limit for him. Both in the national side, and with Chelsea, he could be a glimpse into a fantastic future. Now, he just needs to make his recovery, and he can get up and running in the new season, among a new era for Chelsea.
View this post on InstagramGood to get my first premier league start with a 3-0 win, an assist and great team performance!!
While Chelsea may not be able to sign any new players, surely this could end up feeling like a new signing.
