FIFA’s tapping-up rules are less stringent than the more familiar Premier League rules, and thus the public comments from Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić do not technically fall into that category — even if they most definitely do by the spirit of the law rather than the latter of the law — but Chelsea will still look into (and report to FIFA) any evidence of an illegal approach for Callum Hudson-Odoi from Bayern Munich.
That’s the story from the Mail’s Matt Barlow, underlining Chelsea’s intention to not go down without a fight in this case. We may have let other highly promising prospects go before, some of whom turned out as expected, some less so, but having gotten into this latest pickle, we appear to be doing everything and anything we can to achieve the best possible outcome.
Chelsea may report Bayern Munich to FIFA for tapping up teenage wonderkid Callum Hudson-Odoi https://t.co/Co8SJX65He | @Matt_Barlow_DM pic.twitter.com/FtZjD8AeBN
— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) January 9, 2019
And it’s not just Chelsea’s administrators who are working hard to convince Hudson-Odoi to stay, it’s his teammates as well, plus a legend of the club who probably would love to have a fully developed Hudson-Odoi at his disposal when he makes his managerial debut with the Blues in a few years.
Cesc Fàbregas already praised and gave advice on his farewell, now both Marcos Alonso and Antonio Rüdiger have urged Callum to stay at his boyhood club instead of believing that the grass is greener in Munich.
“He is a good player, but he is very young. He needs to have patience and to be hungry and fight for a place in this team. That is all he needs to do, he has all the conditions to be a great player, now it is up to him to fight for a place here or try to find more minutes somewhere else.
“Bayern Munich? We are Chelsea, another great team, the Premier League is the most competitive league in the world, I don’t know why someone would go to Bayern Munich.”
-Marcos Alonso; source: Independent
Rüdiger, born in Germany, was not about to talk down Bayern to such an extent of course, but still made it clear to the kid that he wants him to stay.
“He asked me about Germany. I can advise him but at the end of the day he decides his future. You can see it from both sides. He can develop here but he can develop in Germany as well. And don’t forget Bayern Munich are also a big club. For his future, I wish him all the best but I just wish he stays with us.”
-Antonio Rüdiger; source: Mail
And Frank Lampard wants that as well, both as a Chelsea fan and, presumably, as a future Chelsea manager.
“I would like to think a young English player at 18, who has his nose in the first team and has incredible talent, will stay and will push himself into the team and be a big player for Chelsea and England. Being close to Chelsea, I want him to stay there. It is a great club, a fantastic club.
“He needs to stay there and work hard to get chances to play in the team. He has done that recently and he has played, and done very well in the last couple of games. Hopefully we will see more of that. I think it is a great opportunity for him to do that. But in terms of what Chelsea think, what Callum thinks and what the interest is from other clubs, that is for them to sort out.”
-Frank Lampard; source: Mirror
The ball is in Hudson-Odoi’s court.