Bayern Munich still interested in Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi, despite potential new contract

Earlier this month, it looked as if Chelsea were prepared to offer Callum Hudson-Odoi a new contract extension worth £100k-a-week to keep him at Stamford Bridge. The 18-year-old’s current contract with the Blues expires at the end of next season and Bayern Munich have shown interest for the better part of the past 12 months in signing him. Bild’s Christian Falk was quick to dispute the reports that Hudson-Odoi was on the verge of signing a new contract:

Per suggestions by Bundesliga expert and Premier League pundit Raphael Honigstein on Sky Sport’s transfer talk podcast (via The Sport Review), he feels that the youngster will ultimately stay with Chelsea, but that Bayern’s interest in signing him has never slackened:

They [Bayern] never stopped revisiting the situation. The interest has been constant. It has worked out well for Hudson-Odoi. There was pressure on Sarri and perhaps [Gareth] Southgate to play him. Suddenly he’s a Chelsea and England player. Chelsea have worked really hard to get him to extend his contract. The temptation must be that he’s English and Chelsea want him here. Chelsea could be his team. [Frank] Lampard could really help his development so he’ll stay.

Now that Maurizio Sarri has left Chelsea to accept the manager’s role at Juventus back in his native Italy, Frank Lampard is in pole position to step into the Chelsea job on a three-year deal. It hasn’t yet been confirmed, but it seems as if the announcement of the deal being completed is more of a “when” than an “if” at this point for the Chelsea legend and former Derby County manager. With an English manager coming in, the dynamic for Hudson-Odoi could change. It took a while for Sarri to show faith in him this season, and but when Hudson-Odoi finally started to get some solid minutes, he suffered that unfortunate setback when he ruptured his Achilles tendon in a match against Burnley.

Chelsea seem fully committed to convincing Hudson-Odoi that he’s going to be a big part of the club’s future, so at this point, it will likely take a considerably high fee from Bayern to pry him away from Stamford Bridge.

Eden Hazard was sold to Real Madrid and a verdict on Chelsea’s appeal to have their transfer ban lifted has not yet been reached. With that said, they might be faced with a rather thin squad in terms of depth next season, making it all the more likely that they’d do anything in their power to keep hold of Hudson-Odoi or ask for an incredibly steep price from Bayern to let him leave. Chelsea will really have to weigh their options with Hudson-Odoi if he doesn’t wind up signing a contract extension, but if he does, Bayern’s hope of getting him in the near future is fleeting at best.