Newcastle United want a creative winger with the ability to dribble past their opponent and Eddie Howe would prefer younger talent over experienced, so its little wonder they’ve been linked with a move for Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Sports journalist Rob Pratley says Newcastle have opened talks with Chelsea over the 21-year-old and could pay a ‘significant fee’ to lure him away from Stamford Bridge. Hudson-Odoi has been short of playing time under Thomas Tuchel, so he should jump at the chance of getting first-team football.
The England international made 28 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring three goals with six assists. Hudson-Odoi started 11 Premier League games from a possible 38 (29%) and started three Champions League outings from a possible 10 (30%), so he’s clearly expendable to the manager.
Hudson-Odoi would be a regular at Newcastle as he created more chances (1 every 38.6 mins) than Allan Saint-Maximin (1 every 56.2 mins) and had more successful dribbles (1 every 60.4 mins) than Miguel Almiron (1 every 63.7 mins) in the league last season. The 21-year-old also contributed more goals and assists (4) than Jacob Murphy (3) and Almiron (1) too, so he would improve the squad.
Time will tell how much Newcastle are told to pay and whether Hudson-Odoi is open to leaving his boyhood club for the Magpies, however, as it could be a big call moving from London to the North-East.
In other news, Newcastle tipped to sign ‘gifted’ James Maddison
