CHELSEA have agreed to loan out winger Callum Hudson-Odoi for the season to German side Bayer Leverkusen.
The 21-year-old forward, who has three England caps, is due to fly out to Germany on Monday to undergo a medical.
Leverkusen wanted an option to buy the winger next summer added to in the deal, but Chelsea only wanted a straight loan.
Hudson-Odoi has yet to feature at all this season under manager Thomas Tuchel, since the arrival of Raheem Sterling.
Chelsea are also keen to bolster their wide options with the additions of Anthony Gordon and Rafael Leao, making Hudson-Odoi surplus to requirements.
Newcastle have also shown an interest in the England international but his £100,000-a-week salary has proved a sticking point.
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Hudson-Odoi was subject to a bid from Bayern Munich two years ago but now looks set to move to the Bundesliga after all – despite signing a new contract when Chelsea rejected the German champions.
He still has two years to run on that deal but is keen to play regular football, and should get that chance under Leverkusen boss Gerardo Seoane.
After a hectic summer of transfer spending the Blues have been looking to offload forward players.
Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic have attracted interest from AC Milan and Manchester United respectively.
Hudson-Odoi has never been out on loan before, having joined Chelsea when he was just seven years old.
He was a member of England’s Under-17 team that won the World Cup in 2017, along with Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho and Emile Smith Rowe.
He made his debut for the first team in 2017, aged 18, and has 72 first team appearances for Chelsea, with four goals.
There was late interest from another German club – but the player’s preferred destination is Leverkusen.
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Hudson-Odoi and his agents listened to all offers and spoke to a number of clubs before deciding Leverkusen presented the best option for his development.
As many as 20 clubs – in England and in Europe – were thought to have been interested in signing Hudson-Odoi earlier this summer.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
