Neil Humphreys: Sell kid and lose face, Chelsea
Blues deserve criticism if Hudson-Odoi follows the likes of Salah and de Bruyne out of the Bridge
Chelsea supporters are angry, which has often been their natural state of being this season.
But on this occasion, they're attacking their own club. And they're right.
Their online dissent is as simple as it is salient. If Callum Hudson-Odoi leaves Stamford Bridge, then what's the purpose of the Blues' academy?
Chelsea's youth coaches produce more ammunition for their rivals than a Donald Trump interview.
After his fine performance against Tottenham Hotspur yesterday morning (Singapore time), Hudson-Odoi should not be allowed to leave, no matter how many zeroes are scribbled on a cheque by the Bayern Munich hierarchy.
His potential move to the Bundesliga is a baffling one, even by Chelsea's erratic standards.
Days after signing a 20-year-old attacking prodigy who favours the right wing, the Blues may flog a local 18-year-old attacking prodigy who favours the right wing. It's this kind of perplexing youth development and recruitment policy that exasperates supporters.
Dispensing with the cliches quickly, yes, football is a results business and, no, managers are never given enough time to polish raw gems and Christian Pulisic is certainly further along his career pathway.
The Borussia Dortmund winger is a United States international. Hudson-Odoi is an English Premier League novice with just 71 minutes under his belt and still looks as if regular shaving is at least a year away.
Taken at face value, Chelsea's financial plan makes sense. Buy a proven star for £58 million (S$100m). Sell an unproven kid for £35m and appease the bookkeepers.
The Roman Abramovich era has been built on impatience and regular silverware, so the "Pulisic in-Hudson-Odoi out" model is entirely in keeping with the club's impetuous - and successful - philosophy.
Kevin de Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, Romelu Lukaku, Ryan Bertrand and Dominic Solanke were a handful of precocious talents who were jettisoned in favour of finished products. Chelsea even sold the emerging Nemanja Matic and later bought the established Nemanja Matic.
And for the most part, this myopic approach worked. Chelsea kept bringing back the trophy booty. But the times feel different now. So does Hudson-Odoi's ability.
GALLOPING RUNS
Like swallows and summers, two games do not make a career, but his performances against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup and Tottenham in the League Cup semi-final must give Chelsea pause for thought.
His assists for Alvaro Morata in the FA Cup underlined his crossing ability, but his galloping runs against Tottenham were more indicative of his enthusiastic wing play. He loves a dribble. The touchline is never far from his boots.
But he wasn't all prancing show pony and no substance against Tottenham. Before he was substituted, he made 43 passes in the opposition half - which equalled the combined total of Spurs' Christian Eriksen (18), Harry Winks (18) and Son Heung Min (seven).
More intriguingly, he linked well with Eden Hazard, who clearly enjoyed playing alongside a fellow speedster.
Their professional relationship is still in its infancy, but the tantalising prospect of Hazard and Hudson-Odoi playing together regularly should be enough to dissuade Chelsea from grabbing the easy money.
Of course, Maurizio Sarri and Hudson-Odoi may agree that the teen remains too far down the pecking order to be guaranteed regular football. Pulisic joins in the summer and Hazard, Willian and Pedro Rodriguez all covet the same attacking positions.
But Willian, Pedro and Hazard are out of contract at the end of next season. At least two of them are likely to be gone before then.
The boardroom at the Bridge might also ponder why the Bayern rumours have particularly irked the Chelsea faithful. He's not the first academy graduate to leave after being starved of first-team opportunities, but the mood has changed.
England reached a World Cup semi-final with a young, enterprising side. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was in the squad (even though he rarely features for Chelsea). Jadon Sancho and Phil Foden are both 18, like Hudson-Odoi, but they are establishing themselves at Dortmund and Manchester City.
In stark contrast, Hudson-Odoi seems destined to take a well-worn path through the Stamford Bridge exit, which seems remarkably short-sighted considering his employers aren't desperate for cash.
The Blues can afford to keep their emerging property and pacify the Chelsea masses.
A kid born in London should not be made in Munich.
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