“I needed to play football somewhere”- Highly-rated Chelsea loanee sheds light on his plans beyond current season

Callum Hudson-Odoi wants to return to Chelsea after Bayer Leverkusen loan spell

Speaking to The Athletic (h/t Evening Standard), Callum Hudson-Odoi wants to return to Chelsea and fight for a place in the first team once his loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen ends.

The 21-year-old struggled for regular game time in the last two seasons under Thomas Tuchel. In games he played, he was mostly pushed to play as a wing-back.

Very late in the summer transfer window, the club academy product agreed on moving to Leverkusen on a season-long deal, in a bid to start afresh.

Talking about leaving Chelsea on loan and wanting to come back next season, here’s Hudson-Odoi (h/t Evening Standard):

“My mindset was, ‘I have to get out of there [Chelsea]. Not in a rude way, as in I don’t like the club or I don’t want to be at the club. Nothing like that.

“But I needed to play football somewhere new. Start afresh. Try the best I can wherever I am. And then go back to Chelsea at the end of the loan.

“I feel like I’m getting back to being myself again — getting back to that stage before the injury when I was more direct and would dribble and stuff like that.”

The winger has made 10 appearances for the German side so far, assisting one goal and chiefly playing either on the wing or as an attacking midfielder. So, he should be happy where he is getting used positionally.

Incidentally, this is the 21-year-old’s loan spell out of Chelsea, having graduated from the academy and gone straight to challenging for a place in the senior team.

Hudson-Odoi has all the qualities a wide attacker needs to have. He has abundant pace, can take on defenders one-on-one, is good at running in behind to stretch the last line, and can carry the ball forward from tight situations. The final product is something he can work on.

As a matter of fact, Chelsea boss Graham Potter wanted to sign him when the former was at Brighton and Hove Albion during the summer transfer window. So, it shows that the manager sees something in the good player that he can use to good effect.

More Chelsea News:

• Transfer News: Chelsea face competition from London rivals to sign Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita
• Chelsea manager Graham Potter believes Kai Havertz can get his mojo back following Champions League heroics
• Wilfried Zaha could be available for transfer in January amid Chelsea interest

For the player, now is the time to continue focusing on doing the best for Leverkusen and let his football do the talking when he returns to Chelsea next summer. He should aim for a certain number in goals and assists terms, and try to hit that by the end of this season.