Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-odoi should push for a move to Crystal Palace in the summer.
That is the view of former Liverpool attacker and CaughtOffside columnist Stan Collymore, who believes a move to Selhurst Park for the winger would be the ideal move in order to ‘reinvent’ his career.
Hudson-odoi, 22, has previously struggled to nail down a place in the Blues’ starting 11, and now with the club under wealthy new American ownership in the form of billionaire Todd Boehly, Chelsea look set for a major summer clear out.
Currently out on loan with German side Bayer Leverkusen, Hudson-odoi has endured another torrid season. Scoring just one goal in 21 apperanances, the 22-year-old is now facing an uncertain future.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, in Monday’s exclusive column, said: “With just 12 months left on his deal, Chelsea have no intention of losing players for free, so for Hudson-odoi – it’s extend deal or be sold.”
And reacting to the news that Chelsea’s number 17 will have a big decision to make once the summer transfer window opens later this year, Collymore highlighted Roy Hodgson’s Palace as the perfect destination.
“My advice to him would be to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer and go to somewhere like Crystal Palace, who look like they’re going to lose Wilfried Zaha, in order to get his career back on track,” Collymore said in an exclusive interview.
“It’s very hard for a player who has been with a big club for so long to reinvent themselves, but Hudson-odoi, at 22 years old, is not a kid anymore. He’ll be viewed as a senior professional so his next move will be a really important one in shaping the rest of his career.
“I do like the thought of him joining Palace though. That is a move, that to me, would make a lot of sense. They’re in London, they look like they’re going to need a new winger, the fees involved are likely to suit Palace’s budget and the pressure on him to succeed won’t be anywhere near as high as it is at Chelsea.”
Since being promoted to the Blues’ first team in 2019, Hudson-odoi has managed 38 direct goal contributions in 126 matches, in all competitions.