Chelsea battle to tie down teen star
HUDSON-ODOI WANTS TO PLAY IN TOP FLIGHT NOW
Chelsea face a fight to keep winger Callum hudsonOdoi as the 18-yearold continues to stall on a new five-year deal.
The club are believed to have made the offer in the summer but hudson- Odoi is refusing to commit unless he is promised more first-team opportunities.
hudson- Odoi, who won the Under 17 World Cup with england last year, made his first start since the Community shield in the dead-rubber 4-0 victory over Greek side PAOK salonika in the europa league on Thursday night.
his parents were in the stands as he scored one, assisted another and hit the crossbar in a man-of thematch display. england manager Gareth southgate and assistant steve holland were also present.
hudson- Odoi has become frustrated by a lack of opportunity under manager Maurizio sarri. he has not played in the Premier league or Carabao Cup all season and, before Thursday, he had had only 35 minutes of europa league action.
Ideally, Chelsea want hudsonOdoi to sign the contract and then agree to a loan move in January to gain experience. The player, however, has no intention of joining a Championship club on a short-team deal as he feels he is ready for regular Premier league football.
hudson- Odoi has already come to the notice of Barcelona and now has attracted attention from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. he has also noted how international team-mate Jadon sancho has flourished in Germany.
But sarri seemed to suggest after the PAOK game that hudson-Odoi is not ready for the top flight, saying: ‘he played very well but the type of match was for his characteristics. I want to see him in matches where we also need him in the defensive phase.
‘I don’t know if he is able for the Premier league at 18, especially in a big team. If he (was) already ready now to make a difference in the team like Chelsea (in the Premier league), then he would be the best player in europe in two years.’
Meanwhile, Fulham manager Claudio Ranieri has teased his friend and Italian compatriot sarri in the build-up to their stamford Bridge derby clash tomorrow, joking that he has inside information on the Chelsea team. sarri invited Ranieri to spend a week observing his methods at the Chelsea training ground earlier this season when the former leicester manager was out of work.
Ranieri recalled: ‘Maurizio was very kind. When I don’t have a job I go around to watch all the teams. I also went to watch Jurgen Klopp and at Borussia Dortmund.
‘I don’t want to stay at home. I go around the world. at Chelsea, I was there one week and we had lunch together after training sessions. I know everything, but believe me it’s difficult to stop them!’
For sarri, it was a case of returning the kindness Ranieri had extended to him as a young coach in Italy’s lower divisions.
sarri explained: ‘I went to speak to him when he was coach of Fiorentina, 22 years ago. I was a coach in serie D, the most important category of the non-professional teams. ‘It was easier for me, because I was the coach of antella, a little team near to Florence.’
as for the fears that Ranieri, who is considering a January move for Chelsea outcast Danny Drinkwater, will have the code to unravel his game plan, sarri smiled and said: ‘But I saw his training 20 years ago.’
For Ranieri, a return to stamford Bridge will be emotional after four years managing the club from 2000-04, while his extraordinary title triumph with leicester was sealed at the stadium when Chelsea drew 2-2 against Tottenham.
Ranieri added: ‘hazard scored a great goal for leicester, so thank you eden, again! But on sunday, stay calm, please! It’s always special. I remember coming here the first time, I was happy because as a player I was an english type, with fantastic skills but also a fantastic fighting spirit.
‘The player is perfect when you have skill, motivation, fighting spirit, ambition. The first memory is 3-3 at Manchester United, my first match. We were down 3-1 and drew 3-3 with, if I remember well, one goal from Jimmy-Floyd hasselbaink and two from Tore andre Flo.’