Callum James Hudson-Odoi (born 7 November 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Nottingham Forest.
During his time with Chelsea's academy, Hudson-Odoi was part of the squads which won the U18 Premier League in 2017 as well as back-to-back FA Youth Cup titles. His form at youth level was rewarded in January 2018 when he was handed his senior debut and he has since made over 110 appearances for the club.
Hudson-Odoi also enjoyed considerable success at youth level for England, being part of the squad which ended as runners-up in the UEFA European Under-17 Championship and which won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the same year. In March 2019, he became the youngest player to debut in a competitive match for England, doing so in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic.
Early life
Hudson-Odoi was born in Wandsworth, London to Ghanaian parents and raised in Wandsworth, London. He is the younger brother of non-League striker Bradley Hudson-Odoi and the second son of former Hearts of Oak Ghanaian midfielder Bismark Odoi. He has a younger brother. Hudson-Odoi was educated at independent Whitgift School in Croydon.
Club career
Chelsea
Early career
Hudson-Odoi joined Chelsea in 2007 and made his under-18 debut in August 2016. He went on to net eight times in twenty-five appearances in his debut campaign, assisting the under-18s to their eight FA Youth Cup triumph. Following this, Hudson-Odoi was promoted to the under-23 team at the age of sixteen and went on to score four times in three games during their EFL Trophy campaign, including a double in their 2–2 draw with League One team Plymouth Argyle.
On 20 December 2017, Hudson-Odoi first appeared in Chelsea's matchday squad in their EFL Cup tie against AFC Bournemouth, remaining as an unused substitute in the 2–1 victory. On 28 January 2018, Hudson-Odoi made his first-team debut in the FA Cup match against Newcastle United. He came off the bench in the 81st minute, replacing Pedro in a 3–0 home victory. His Premier League debut came as a substitute on 31 January in a 3–0 home loss to Bournemouth.
2018–19 season
Following an impressive 2018–19 pre-season under the newly appointed Maurizio Sarri, the Italian announced that Hudson-Odoi would stay with the Chelsea first-team squad for the forthcoming campaign. Following this, Hudson-Odoi was handed the number 20 jersey. On 5 August 2018, Hudson-Odoi made his first start for the club during their FA Community Shield defeat to Manchester City, featuring for 59 minutes in the 2–0 loss. In his first Europa League start against PAOK, he scored his first goal for the senior team, which went on to win 4–0 at Stamford Bridge on 29 November.
On 5 January 2019, in Chelsea's FA Cup third-round opener against Nottingham Forest, he assisted both of Álvaro Morata's goals in a 2–0 win. During the January transfer window Hudson-Odoi was reportedly the subject of multiple transfer bids from Bayern Munich, with Chelsea's assistant manager Gianfranco Zola and Bayern's director of sport Hasan Salihamidžić both confirming the interest. Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri criticised Bayern Munich's public conduct. On 26 January 2019, it was announced that Hudson-Odoi had put in an official transfer request. However, he was selected for Chelsea's next match the following day, a home tie in the FA Cup against Sheffield Wednesday. Hudson-Odoi played 90 minutes, scoring in a 3–0 win. Two days later, Sarri confirmed that Hudson-Odoi would be staying at the club.
In March 2019, Chelsea complained about alleged racism aimed at Hudson-Odoi during a match against Dynamo Kyiv. He was later offered counselling for the incident. On 3 April, he made his first league start for Chelsea and assisted Olivier Giroud for the opening goal in a 3–0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. In doing so, he became the youngest player to assist a goal on his first start for the club in the Premier League era, aged 18 years and 146 days. On 22 April 2019, Hudson-Odoi was removed in the first half of a match against Burnley with an injury to his Achilles tendon, ruling him out for the rest of the season.
2019–20 season
Hudson-Odoi was again pursued by Bayern Munich in the summer of 2019, with Chelsea rejecting a £22.5 million bid, compared to the £35 million offer in January.