Callum Hudson-Odoi is back at Chelsea after spending the whole of last season on loan with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen. He was left out of Mauricio Pochettino's squad for the pre-season tour of USA, meaning his future likely lies away from Stamford Bridge. Interest has mounted in the player, but one club appears closer than the rest to signnig him.
Hudson-Odoi only made seven league starts in Germany, and is now desperate to find a club where regular football is no longer an issue. It would appear that Fulham is indeed that club, and it looks as though the player has already agreed personal terms with Marco Silva's side, according to The Evening Standard.
The 22-year-old has been training with the Blues Under-21 team in pre-season, and is determined to get out of the club and prove himself at the highest level. There is however a stumbling in this proposed switch to Fulham, which has alerted one European club over a possible late move of their own.
Chelsea have been increasing the asking price for Hudson-Odoi to try and entice other clubs to make their intentions known. One club, in the form of Serie A outfit Lazio, are monitoring the situation with real interest, although they are yet to make an official move. It would appear they would favour a loan move, whereas Fulham are looking for a permanent signing.
Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest are two Premier League clubs that were keen on snapping up the player, but they have since been forced to undeclare their interest for financial reasons. The tricky winger is on over £120,000-per-week at Stamford Bridge, where he still has one-year remaining on his contract. This too could present something of a problem in negotiations over a sale.
Finances for Fulham may not be a problem for much longer, assuming wantaway striker Aleksandar Mitrović gets his wish over a summer move to Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal. It could therefore be a case of Fulham manager Marco Silva, who himself rejected a management job in Saudi Arabia, waiting for his striker to leave before signing the Chelsea man is possible.
Elsewhere at Craven Cottage, Mexican international Raúl Jiménez is primed to leave Wolverhampton Wanderers and join the club. With Fulham seemingly making inroads in many transfer deals, it appears that the club hierarchy have granted funds for Silva to significantly boost his squad. The addition of Hudson-Odoi would also do this, adding good versatility in attack.
Callum Hudson-Odoi Transfer: Will he join Fulham?
The fact that he has already agreed personal terms with the club proves that this is a move that he wants. It allows him to remain in the Premier League, arguably the best league in the world, whilst he surely would not have to relocate or have to deal with the usual issues faced with signing for a team abroad.
His Bayer Leverkusen stint did not go as planned, so he surely wants to play at the best possible level to give him a shot at winning back a place in Gareth Southgate's England squad eventually. He has three England caps to his name, but rejecting the chance to play for the Under-21 team a few years ago could count against him in the future.
As regards to this deal, it is now up to the two clubs to agree a fee for Hudson-Odoi to make the move he wants. If Lazio are serious about their interest, which would see Hudson-Odoi link up with ex-Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri, it would give the player a decision to make. They could offer European football, unlike Fulham.
At the moment, Hudson-Odoi merely has to keep on training individual with the Chelsea training ground with a list of other star names that are primed to leave the club. Romelu Lukaku is one other star name with his heart set on departing Stamford Bridge on a permanent basis, whilst former Ajax man Hakim Ziyech sees his future elsewhere.
Hudson-Odoi may well be the latest player to exit the five-time Premier League champions, with Kai Havertz, Kalidou Koulibaly, Édouard Mendy and Mateo Kovačić amongst those to have already moved on.
