• Frank Lampard convinced teenager to stay in one meeting• Hudson-Odoi keen to add to Southgate’s attacking options
For Callum Hudson-Odoi, the reality is that had things worked out differently in January he could have been a Bayern Munich player, watching the Frank Lampard academy-fired revolution at
Chelsea from afar. How would that have felt? “To be fair, I wouldn’t know how I’d feel because I’m not there,” he replies, showing the kind of swerve with which he has made his name.
It does not take long for his true sentiments to emerge. The 19‑year‑old winger was almost driven to Bayern by a combination of frustration and impatience – the former caused by the Chelsea manager last season, Maurizio Sarri, who barely played him over the first half of the campaign. Bayern had been confident of closing the deal; perhaps too confident. The simple fact was they did not impress the Chelsea hierarchy with the way they went about their business and it is easy to feel their approach served to harden the
London club’s resolve to keep their young star. Bayern offered £35m plus £5m in add-ons but Chelsea said no. It did not matter to them that Hudson‑Odoi had lodged a transfer request.