Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley has encouraged his young team-mate Callum Hudson-Odoi to stay at Chelsea. The 18-year-old Hudson-Odoi is rumoured to be a top target of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
It appears that German clubs have become fond of recruiting young English talent. After struggling to break into the Manchester City first-team, Jadon Sancho moved to Borussia Dortmund. Had Sancho stayed at the Etihad Stadium, he most likely would have been a fringe player in Pep Guardiola’s squad. However, moving to Dortmund was a brilliant decision. He is a first-team regular within Lucien Favre’s team and is one of the top-ranked midfielders in the Bundesliga. Sancho’s performances have even got him into the England squad.
The success story of Sancho could be something that appeals to Hudson-Odoi. He is unlikely to get regular first-team action at Stamford Bridge anytime soon but could be handed more minutes if he moves to Germany. Ademola Lookman is another young English talent who enjoyed success in Germany. Lookman spent the second half of last season on loan with RB Leipzig as he went on to score five goals from 11 appearances in the German top-flight.
Now back with the Toffees, Lookman struggles to get regular first-team action. He most definitely would have been getting more regular action had Leipzig managed to sign him on a permanent basis.
Barkley has urged Hudson-Odoi to stay at Chelsea and work hard to get into the first-team picture.
As quoted by the Chelsea website, the former Everton man said: “From a young age I’ve always been dedicated and worked hard. You have to stick at it and sometimes you have to sacrifice things, for example, what your friends are doing. Just love the game and the rewards will come.
“I started at a similar age to Callum. I’ve seen how talented he is through training and you can see what he’s capable of. He’s a very mature lad for his age, he knows what direction he’s going in and he’s improving all the time. He has a great future at the club, he’s up there with the best talents I’ve seen in the time I’ve been a professional and hopefully he stays at the club for many years.”
