Bayern wait as Zola snub pushes Hudson-Odoi closer to no-deal exit

CALLUM HUDSON-ODOI’s prospects of signing a new deal at Chelsea have receded even further after Gianfranco Zola’s comments that the winger is on the ‘edge of the team’ and ‘there aren’t many 18-year-olds in Europe playing as many games as him.’

Hudson-Odoi, the subject of a £35million bid from Bayern Munich last month, was already dispirited by Maurizio Sarri’s reluctance to use him, but Zola’s response to the six minutes he was given at Malmo in the Europa League on Thursday will have only strengthened his conviction that the coach doesn’t truly believe in him. Hudson-Odoi is not expected to start against Manchester United tomorrow, despite starting in the two previous FA Cup rounds against Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday.

Bayern will bid again for him in April, though the player would wait until January 1 next year to join them if a fee is not agreed this summer.

If he moves in 2020, the year his contract runs out, Chelsea will get minimal compensation, compared to the £35m Bayern were willing to pay last month.

Hudson-Odoi did briefly seem to be making an impression on Sarri when he started the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham, but that came after Bayern’s £35m bid. He is still yet to start a Premier League match for Chelsea.

Zola’s intervention jarred, given that 18-year-olds Vinicius Junior at Real Madrid and Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund are both getting regular starts for Champions League clubs fighting for their respective league titles. Hudson-Odoi’s advisors fear it is unlikely he will get enough playing time in the next 18 months to develop in the way Sancho and Vini cius can. Despite Chelsea’s £80,000-a-week offer, they have always made it clear that the decision will not be motivated by money but by the amount of playing time he will get at Bayern.

The Germans would give Hudson-Odoi the No10 shirt and make him fundamental to the club’s rebuild, with Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery leaving at the end of the season. Chelsea signed Christian Pulisic for £58m for next season and even with Eden Hazard expected to join Real Madrid, there is no indication Willian or Pedro will leave, meaning Hudson-Odoi would remain fourth-choice winger.