The talk at Chelsea today is largely about whether or not they should recall winger Callum Hudson-Odoi in January, or whether they should let him stay on his season-long loan deal at Bayer Leverkusen.
We are just three months away from the winter transfer window now, and this is when Chelsea have a live clause in Hudson-Odoi’s loan contract to Bayer Leverkusen, meaning they can recall him in January if they want to.
Some reports have been flying around today suggesting that Chelsea are considering doing this. Personally, my gut feeling is that we should not use this option and keep the winger out on loan in Bundesliga, mainly because he has had a good start there and is playing a lot more than he was at Chelsea. For his development, he needs a full and good season playing regular matches.
However, IF Blues boss Graham Potter says that he wants Hudson-Odoi back and tells him that he will get plenty of minutes back with us at Chelsea, then maybe my view here changes.
Also, if Chelsea end up allowing one or both of Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic to leave, then they should 100% recall Hudson-Odoi regardless. But it is situation dependent.
My initial feeling stays the same without taking into account any of the above, and that is it would be wise to keep Hudson-Odoi at Leverkusen for the full season for the sake of him and for the sake of us. We need him to come back as the complete player and ready to go.
