Callum Hudson-Odoi has barely featured in senior professional football — he is just 18, after all — but reportedly already has a “cult following” in the Bundesliga, where the recent emphasis has been on youth, and even more so than usual. Borussia Dortmund’s success this season, RB Leipzig’s rise in recent seasons, and Bayern Munich’s revitalization project are all fueling this trend.
'HUDSON-ODOI HAS CULT FOLLOWING'
— Sunday Supplement (@SundaySupp) December 30, 2018
German football journalist @honigstein says Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi has been monitored for a while in the Bundesliga, amid interest from Bayern Munich.
Read here: https://t.co/kIYUNIAt8N pic.twitter.com/rDvTFTcrMe
All three of those teams are apparently interested in one of the shiniest jewels in the Chelsea Academy. In Dortmund’s case, they are looking to possibly making him part of the Christian Pulisic deal. In Leipzig’s case, they appear to be hanging around and see if they can sneak in (per kicker). And in Bayern’s case, they are driving hard enough to have now reportedly submitted a second bid, upping their offer from a laughable £13m to a less laughable £20m+.
SKYSPORTS Bayern make second Hudson-Odoi bid Bayern Munich have made a second bid, this time in excess of £20m, for Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi, Sky Sports News understands. https://t.co/ChFyfdBlaI
— Chelsea FC RSS Feeds (@CFCrss) December 29, 2018
As reported last week by Raphael Honigstein, who seems to have his finger right on the pulse of this story, Bayern see Hudson-Odoi as an ideal player and the youngster is understandably interested if the German giants are indeed offering him a chance to become a cornerstone already as they look to move on from a decade of the Robben-Ribery double act on the wings.
Was told by a German scout in September that he’s the real deal. But nobody made a bid then (as far as I know) Has only become a story now because Bayern are pushing and he seems willing to go, too.
— Raphael Honigstein (@honigstein) December 30, 2018
Still, £20 million sounds very low, especially as Chelsea are undoubtedly still looking to tie him down to a new long-term contract. A lower transfer fee would be acceptable if a buy-back clause was included, but ideally, we still somehow make the pie-in-the-sky plan work, where Hudson-Odoi develops into Eden Hazard’s long-term replacement while Christian Pulisic comes in to do the same on the right wing for Willian.