Fabrizio Romano has explained Chelsea's current stance on winger Callum Hudson-Odoi.
What did Romano say about Hudson-Odoi?
The 20-year-old was linked with a loan move to Borussia Dortmund this summer, but ended up remaining at Stamford Bridge.
Romano admitted on the most recent episode of The Here We Go Podcast that two of the best clubs in the Bundesliga have wanted to sign Hudson-Odoi in recent years, but have not been able to as Chelsea have no intention of selling the player.
He said: “Borussia Dortmund wanted Hudson-Odoi for two years, they are pushing to have him, trying and trying. Also, Bayern wanted him one year ago, but for Chelsea it’s impossible. They want Hudson-Odoi to stay. Crazy bids or staying, and the answer was staying.
“For Hudson-Odoi, I think that now this season will be so important, as Tuchel said, to clarify his position. How important, how key is Hudson-Odoi in Chelsea’s project? And then decide maybe next summer, continue like this, or maybe find another solution. As of now, for Chelsea, he is an untouchable player.”
How has the season started for Hudson-Odoi?
Chelsea have made a flying start to the campaign, picking up 10 points from their opening four league fixtures, while also winning the UEFA Super Cup last month.
Hudson-Odoi, who earns £120,000-a-week, has struggled to get a look-in, though. He failed to feature in any of the side's opening three domestic matches, before he finally got his first start this past weekend against Aston Villa.
The youngster delivered a solid display as he received a WhoScored game rating of 7.08, sending out a message to Thomas Tuchel that he is perhaps worthy of some more game time moving forwards.
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Can Hudson-Odoi become a first-team regular at Chelsea this year?
Right now, that appears difficult.
It seems that he will get the majority of his playing time as a right wing-back, but he currently seems to be behind Reece James and Cesar Azpilicueta in the pecking order for this position.
Tuchel also has the option of using Hudson-Odoi higher up the pitch, yet he already has a number of star names to cover these roles, including Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech.
Therefore, it is not easy to see how Hudson-Odoi is going to cement his place in the team this year, so unless things change dramatically, it would not be a major surprise if his future is being discussed once more next summer.