Frank Lampard Insists Callum Hudson-Odoi Can Become 'Huge Player' for Chelsea if He Signs New Deal
By Tom Gott
Frank Lampard has reiterated his desire to see Callum Hudson-Odoi remain at the club, insisting that the wonderkid could blossom into one of the club's finest talents.
The 18-year-old enjoyed a number of stunning seasons as part of Chelsea's academy, but found himself struggling to force a way into the first team under Maurizio Sarri. As a result, he pushed for a move to Bayern Munich in January, but Chelsea opted to keep him at Stamford Bridge and allow him to enter the final year of his contract.
Speaking to Chelsea's official website, Lampard made no secret of his desire to see Hudson-Odoi sign a new contract and develop into a club legend.
He said: "I have seen Callum come through and he is a fantastic talent. We all know that and I will speak to him and I want him to stay.
"I know the club want him to stay and for me, he is going to be central for us on the pitch and that is the opportunity that is really in front of him now, certainly from where I am sitting. So that is something I will speak to him about and I hope he stays.
"When I say he is going to be central to it, there are things as a young player that he will want to improve and there are things through natural development that will improve, so I am not going to say things that are pie in the sky but with his talent, he can be central to this team, he can be central to England, so I am going to say I want to work with him.
"I want to drive him forward and I want to improve him as a player. He can show, right here at Chelsea, the team he came through the Academy at, that he is going to be a world-class player because I truly believe that.
"I will pay a lot of care and attention to Callum, because of the contractual position he is in, to try to get him to stay and not with any lies or any false statements to him.
"I know what a player he is and I think he can be an incredible player and he has improvements to make and I want to work with him to do it, but for that he needs to stay longer at the club. That of course goes to a decision between him and the club and I am not involved in the financial negotiations, but I can certainly tell him how I see it and I see him being a huge player for us."