Chelsea are apparently determined to tie down Callum Hudson-Odoi to a long-term deal at Stamford Bridge as rumors swirl that Bayern Munich are making a push for the 18-year-old.
Several accounts - including one from the Guardian's Ed Aarons - claim the Bundesliga behemoths have submitted a bid worth £30 million plus add-ons for Hudson-Odoi, but Simon Johnson of The Evening Standard believes the Blues will spurn Bayern's third offer for their teenager as they try to get him to sign fresh terms in London.
Hudson-Odoi has 18 months left on his paperwork at Chelsea and still hasn't accepted a five-year contract that was tabled last summer. He allegedly used his first senior goal in November's 4-0 win over PAOK to threaten his exit if he wasn't rewarded with regular minutes in Maurizio Sarri's ranks. He has since started against MOL Vidi in the Europa League and was introduced from the bench against Watford on Boxing Day before being substituted later in the fixture.
Perhaps influenced by the impacts of ex-Manchester City youngster Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal's Reiss Nelson during his loan spell at Hoffenheim, Bayern have eyed the English youngster for some time. Johnson understands the two unsuccessful bids from the Bavarians were worth £13.5 million and £20 million, respectively.
Sarri has regularly voiced his appreciation for Hudson-Odoi's nascent talent but said his squad needed a winger when the January transfer window opened. Chelsea got just that by offloading £58 million for Christian Pulisic on Wednesday, but the American will remain at Dortmund for the remainder of the campaign.
That leaves Chelsea, then, still relatively thin in a department where Hudson-Odoi has played well enough to attract the attention of one of Europe's biggest clubs.
