Official: Callum Hudson-Odoi leaves Chelsea and joins PL rivals on permanent deal
Nottingham Forest have completed the signing of Callum Hudon-Odoi from Chelsea, bringing an end to the player's 16-year spell with the Blues.
The 22-year-old forward joins the growing list of players who have been sold by Chelsea this summer, in what has been a massive squad clear out.
Hudson-Odoi joined the Blues in 2007 and worked his way through the club's youth ranks, before eventually breaking into the first team at the age of 17.
He made his first senior debut during the 2017-18 season, coming on as an 81st minute substitute for Pedro during a 3-0 FA Cup home win against Newcastle United.
His breakthrough campaign with the west London club came the following season, as he was trusted with more minutes under former Blues manager Maurizio Sarri.
He was a regular and stand out perfomer during the 2018-19 Europa League campaign, which the Blues went on to win. Odoi was however, missing from the final, due to an ACL injury which he picked up against Burnley in April 2019.
The injury is widely believed to have had a major impact on Odoi's career with the Blues, as he struggled to recapture the sort of form he had prior to his ACL injury.
He spent the entirety of the 2022-23 football campaign at Bayer Leverkusen where he made a total of 21 appearances. Hudson-Odoi scored one goal and registered one assist for Leverkusen.
Chelsea are expected to receive a transfer fee in the region of in the region of £5 million with potential add-ons from Nottingham Forest as reported by Fabrizio Romano. Forest also agreed to having a sell-on clause in the contract for Hudson-Odoi.
The player has now signed a three-year contract with The Reds. He made a combined total of 126 minutes for Chelsea, scoring 16 goals across all competitions.
Chelsea complete transfer for highly rated English forward
The Blues have announced the signing of Cole Palmer from Manchester City, for a transfer fee in the region of £40 million. It also includes add-ons that could be around £2.5 million.
Palmer is widely regarded as one of PL brightest prospects, and now joins a Blues side that are stacked-full with a handful of promising talents.
Speaking after joining the west London club, Palmer revealed that he was attracted to the Blues' current project. He also stated that he can't wait to get started. In his words via the club's official website, he said:
"I’m excited to get started and it feels great to sign,’ said Palmer. I’ve joined Chelsea because the project here sounds good and because of the platform I will have to try to showcase my talents. It is a young and hungry squad and, hopefully, we can do something special here.’
He made a total of 24 appearances for City last season, scoring one goal and registering one assist. Palmer could be in line to make his debut for the Blues this weekend.