Manchester United have joined the chase for England and Chelsea star Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, who made a £35million bid in January, are also chasing the teenager, who was given his debut by Gareth Southgate in the 5-0 win over the Czech Republic on Friday.
The 18-year-old is no closer to signing a deal with Chelsea and his current contract runs out in the summer of 2020, with no further substantial talks having taken place since January.
But his situation has been complicated by Chelsea’s transfer ban, against which they are appealing. Hudson-Odoi beat Duncan Edwards’ 62-year-old record of being the youngest player to make his England debut in a competitive game on Friday.
Bayern are set to come back with a bid of about £30m in the summer, reflecting the diminishing value of the player to Chelsea as his contract runs down.
Yet with Eden Hazard likely to be the subject of a bid from Real Madrid this summer and with Chelsea unsure whether they can make any additional signings to add to Christian Pulisic, who signed in January from Borussia Dortmund, Hudson-Odoi’s future is now a more complex situation.
Chelsea want to him to stay but it has been made clear to them that, although their £85,000-a-week offer is a generous one, money is not the issue and the player’s development opportunities at a crucial time of his career are more important. Hudson-Odoi has yet to start any Premier League games under Maurizio Sarri and before Christmas he received just 274 minutes of competitive game time. He is now starting in the Europa League but Bayern Munich want him as an integral part of their team rebuild and have offered him Arjen Robben’s No10 shirt, with the Dutchman leaving in the summer.
Chelsea would be unlikely to sell in the summer, especially to a Premier League rival, though they risk losing Hudson-Odoi, now one of the best-rated teenagers in world football and the leading light of their academy, for a nominal fee in 2020.
But England manager Southgate has said that Chelsea’s transfer ban might afford Hudson-Odoi the opportunities he desires and that his development can progress. Southgate said: ‘If you look at number of appearances, he has actually been on the field quite a lot and I know how much faith Maurizio has in him.
‘He’s maturing well. His progress is good and, given that Chelsea could have a restriction on signing people, then his opportunities will come.’