Report: Callum Hudson-Odoi prepared to leave for free if Chelsea refuse Bayern Munich offer (UPDATED)

According to a report by the Daily Mail (yes, I know, bear with me here) Chelsea FC winger Callum Hudson-Odoi has made up his mind to join Bayern Munich and is prepared to run down his contract to do so. While the youngster would prefer a move in this window, the Blues’ refusal to sell could force him to wait and leave for free when his contract expires in the summer of 2020.

Of course, this being a Daily Mail article, take the report with a grain of salt. Still, it checks out with all previous reporting on the issue. According to the article, Hudson-Odoi feels exasperated by Chelsea’s refusal to sell him, but he is not willing to go on strike — which is a good thing, too, as Bayern President Uli Hoeness hates it when players do that.

Instead, Hudson-Odoi is willing to wait until the summer and secure a move for a lower fee, when Chelsea presumably will have less leverage. If that fails, Hudson-Odoi still has the option to transfer the summer after that, when his contract runs out. Chelsea would only be entitled to a training compensation payment from Bayern (as mandated by FIFA), which would likely amount to less than £500,000.

Currently, the Blues have an offer on the table worth £35m (€39m) from Bayern. While they have yet to accept it, perhaps the threat of losing the youngster for virtually nothing could convince them.

On the other hand, they may play the waiting game, as it gets more and more difficult for Bayern the longer this drags on. Why? Well, Bayern Munich have five wingers at the moment — Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Kinglsey Coman, Serge Gnabry, and Alphonso Davies. Two of them — Robben and Ribery — will leave the club this summer. Bayern MUST buy at least one more winger to replace them.

Hudson-Odoi is probably supposed to be that winger, but if Chelsea refuse to sell during this window as well as in the summer, waiting for the youngster may not be an option for the Bavarians. The Bayern board would need to move on and look for new targets, because beginning the 2019/20 season with just three wingers on the roster would be suicide. If that happens, Hudson-Odoi would no longer have a suitor. He could still leave Chelsea, but it would be unlikely for him to join Munich.

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s winger duo of Pedro and Willian are getting old, and Eden Hazard’s contract situation isn’t set in stone. With the possibility of losing their star player to Real Madrid, perhaps the notoriously stubborn Maurizio Sarri might choose to add Hudson-Odoi to his matchday squads more often? Could such a gesture convince him to stay in London?

This transfer saga really seems to want to keep dragging on. A resolution is long overdue. The Bundesliga restarts in a week’s time. Can we move on, please?

Update

According to Nizaar Kinsella of goal.com, who has reported on this transfer since the beginning, Chelsea are stalling on Hudson-Odoi as they hope that an increased amount of playing time can keep the youngster at the club. However, it may be a case of too-little too-late as the youngster seems to have made his mind up about joining Bayern.

Among the things reiterated are Bayern’s offer of the #10 jersey to Hudson-Odoi and the fact that the youngster is tempted because of the success Jadon Sancho has had with Borussia Dortmund this year.

We’ll keep you updated as more news arrives.