Ruthless Pochettino wants to terminate Chelsea man’s contract as career downturn reaches new low

Chelsea could brutally end the contract of winger Callum Hudson-Odoi a year early as they try to move him on this summer, according to a report.

Hudson-Odoi came through the Chelsea academy before making his debut in January 2018. Since then, the Englishman has gone on to make 126 appearances for the Blues, registering 16 goals and 22 assists in that time.

Surprisingly, Hudson-Odoi became the subject of interest from Bayern in October 2020. The German giants ended up launching a loan-to-buy offer worth £70million for him, but that was pushed back by Chelsea.

At the time, Chelsea officials viewed Hudson-Odoi as an important player for the future and did not want to let him leave under any circumstances.

However, Hudson-Odoi has never lived up to his potential in a Chelsea shirt and after a poor season in 2021-22 he was loaned out to Bayer Leverkusen for the next campaign.

The 22-year-old will have been hoping to turn his career around by putting in some electric displays in the Bundesliga, just like compatriot Jadon Sancho did at Borussia Dortmund.

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But Hudson-Odoi recorded only one goal and one assist in 21 outings for Leverkusen before returning to West London recently.

Chelsea fans may have been wondering if Hudson-Odoi would be given some first-team opportunities by the club next term, despite his recent struggles. After all, new boss Mauricio Pochettino is known to be good at developing young players.

Chelsea want rid of Callum Hudson-Odoi

Instead, London World report that Pochettino wants Hudson-Odoi gone. He does not feel the wide man is good enough to make an impact for Chelsea next season and therefore hopes to offload him so he doesn’t waste a spot in the squad.

Having previously been offered as much as £70m for Hudson-Odoi, Chelsea could incredibly now let him go on a free transfer.

The report explains how Chelsea are preparing to ask him to end his contract a year early. To do this, he would have to accept a 50 per cent cut on his wage. Chelsea would then pay off the remainder of his salary, allowing him to find a new club for free.

The three-time England international could remain in the Premier League when departing Stamford Bridge. Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and West Ham are all keeping tabs on his situation ahead of potential moves.

His signing clearly represents a risk for those three clubs, as he will be low on confidence after a couple of tough years. But if one of them can get Hudson-Odoi firing, then the lack of a transfer fee could make it a good piece of business.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have completed a huge U-turn as they have opened talks over the signing of one of their former players, according to a report.