After months of speculation Chelsea star Callum Hudson-Odoi has signed a new five-year contract at Chelsea, nine months after he handed in a transfer request in an attempt to force a move to Bayern Munich.
The 18-year-old forward, who is close to returning to the first team after an Achilles injury, has received a substantial wage increase to £120,000 a week for the next five years until 2024.
Frustration at a lack of first-team appearances under Maurizio Sarri prompted Hudson-Odoi to seek a transfer to Bayern in January but he subsequently played more matches and was encouraged by the appointment of Frank Lampard as head coach last summer.
Chelsea are going in a different direction this season with Frank Lampard by giving the academy graduates and Callum Hudson-Odoi follows Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in committing his future to the club, and talks are underway with Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori.
Despite signing a new contract Hudson-Odoi will know that he has to work hard to get some game time in this Chelsea side with competition on the wings from the likes of Pedro, Willian, and Christian Pulisic.
Chelsea has been devoid of creativity and dynamism this season after they lost their best player Eden Hazard to Real Madrid. So often last season in games like their 1-0 loss to Valencia in the Champions League where the side needed the spark up front, Hazard would come up with something special to win Chelsea the game.
Hudson-Odoi has been earmarked as the player to replace Eden Hazard, while it is still early days Hudson-Odoi has shown in his few appearances for Chelsea that he has the potential to replace Hazard’s goals and assists. The winger scored four goals in nine games for Chelsea in the Europa league and looked a constant threat with his pace and trickery.
The 18-year-old is a traditional winger who likes to hug the touchline and use his pace to get past defenders to whip crosses in or he can even cut outside the defender and score goals.
Hudson-Odoi who while still only 18 will be under pressure to perform after signing a lucrative deal but will also know that he needs to work hard in training to get a regular run in the team.
