Former Chelsea forward Tony Cascarino has warned the Blues that attacker Callum Hudson-Odoi could develop into the next Jadon Sancho if they allow him to leave this month.
After struggling to break into the Manchester City first team on a regular basis, Sancho left England to join Borussia Dortmund during the summer of 2017. The 18-year-old Sancho has since established himself as a first-team regular within the Dortmund side and has come to be regarded as one of the best players in the Bundesliga as he has contributed six goals and several assists from 17 league games for his side this term.
In addition to this, Sancho has also rightfully won his way into Gareth Southgate’s England side.
The German football fraternity has begun to warm up to the idea of recruiting young English talent. In addition to Sancho’s successes, Everton youngster Ademola Lookman also has plenty of admirers in Germany.
The 21-year-old Lookman spent the last season on loan with RB Leipzig and impressed as he went on to score five goals from 11 League appearances. He returned to Goodison Park last summer following the completion of his loan spell with Leipzig still continue to try and sign him on a permanent basis.
Hudson-Odoi who thus far boasts three Premier League appearances for the Blues is a player with tremendous potential. The Blues must first give him an opportunity to impress for them before deciding whether or not they should move him on. Perhaps, sending him to a mid-table top-flight side to get more experience will be a good starting point. Selling could prove to be a costly decision in the long-term.
As quoted by The Times, Cascarino said: “Bayern Munich’s interest in Callum Hudson-Odoi should tell Chelsea all they need to know. The 18-year-old is clearly a special talent and they should be doing all they can to stop him joining one of the biggest clubs in Europe.
“Transfer fees are obscene for teenagers but Chelsea should look farther down the line. Just look at Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund.
“Manchester City let him leave and now he is starring for the Bundesliga leaders domestically and in the Champions League. Chelsea must resist the temptation of selling Hudson-Odoi this month and try and persuade him to sign a new long-term contract – his value and ability is likely to only increase.
“There aren’t many players who can skip past players and deliver such brilliant crosses as he did against Nottingham Forest on Saturday. He set up Alvaro Morata for both goals and was comfortably the best player on the pitch.
“Chelsea have had little success in establishing their academy players in the first team, which should make them even more determined to keep Hudson-Odoi. They know how important it is to their fans to have a home-grown player star for the first team – just look at how the supporters adored John Terry.”
