Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi insists he made the right decision to stay at the club amidst interest from Bayern Munich.

The German giants had several bids rejected by Chelsea during the January transfer window, and the teenager reportedly handed in a transfer request in an attempt to force through the move.

Hudson-Odoi was eventually convinced to stay at Stamford Bridge, after receiving more playing time, and broke into Gareth Southgate’s England squad before his progress was stalled when he ruptured his Achilles tendon in April, report Evening Standard.

Despite that setback, he signed a new five-year contract worth more than £100,000-a-week with the Blues last month, and says he’s happy with the way things have worked out.

“The club have done so much for me and I’m so thankful for that,” he told BBC Sport.

“The decision that I made was a very good one for me and my family. We all thought that it was the right club to be at.

“I’ve been here all my life, so there’s no need to change yet. My mum and dad are happy where they are and I’m happy where I am.”

With the Blues unable to sign players until the end of the season because of a transfer ban, Lampard has given opportunities to young players like Hudson-Odoi, midfielder Mason Mount, striker Tammy Abraham and defender Fikayo Tomori.

“We’ve done really well,” said Hudson-Odoi. “We had a slow start but picked up really well.

“The camp is more buzzing because we have an ex-player back as manager. It’s a great feeling for us.

“We’re all enjoying our football at the moment, happy and smiling. It’s a great vibe around the camp, everyone wants to be there.”

Reports in England claim Chelsea youngster Ike Ugbo has become the latest England prospect to be targeted by Nigeria.

According to the Daily Mail, Nigeria have been running the rule over 21-year-old hotshot Ugbo who has caught the eye after making a prolific start to his loan spell at Roda JC this season.

Ugbo scored his fifth goal in just eight appearances, six of which have been starts, for the Dutch side at Telstar on Friday night and Nigeria had officials at the game to watch him having stepped up their interest.

Striker Ugbo was born in Lewisham, south London and is eligible for Nigeria through his parents.

He has played for England at Under-17 and Under-20 level, helping the latter squad win the 2017 Toulon Tournament.

Nigeria were dealt a blow last week when Ugbo’s Stamford Bridge team-mate Tammy Abraham was recalled to the England squad when they were hoping to persuade him to switch allegiance.

Nigeria’s attempts to swoop for eligible youngsters with dual nationality show no sign of slowing down and could now continue with Ugbo, having recently persuaded the likes of Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina and Chuba Akpom, who all represented England at youth level, to make the switch.

Ray Parlour has blasted Arsenal for signing David Luiz, saying that Crystal Palace defender Gary Cahill would have been a better signing for them than the Brazilian.

Both centre-backs left Chelsea this summer, with Luiz being sold to Arsenal on deadline day, while Cahill came to the end of his contract at Stamford Bridge.

Luiz and Cahill both proved to be fine servants to Chelsea during their time there, but it’s fair to say it’s the former England international faring better for his new club so far this season.

Palace have made a strong start to the new campaign and have currently conceded three goals fewer than Arsenal as they sit sixth in the Premier League table, report Caughtoffside.

Considering he joined on a free, Cahill has looked a superb piece of business for the Eagles, and Parlour believes he’d sort out this leaky Gunners defence.

Discussing Cahill’s form, Parlour noted how AFC are leaking goals at the moment, suggesting he clearly thinks Cahill would be an upgrade on the Luiz-Sokratis partnership that we’ve seen at the Emirates Stadium this season.

“Gary Cahill has been a brilliant signing for Palace. (Nearly) 34 years old, he was out for two months, probably didn’t kick a ball but he’s kept himself in shape and come back into the side with all his experience,” the former midfielder told talkSPORT, as quoted by HITC.

“He’d have done a good job for them (Arsenal) the way they’re playing at the moment, the way they’re leaking goals.”

Rob Green has revealed how Chelsea’s stars were left questioning why Callum Hudson-Odoi was not in their team last season.

The players were not happy the youngster was not initially playing reguarlarly for the team, and the club fans were also alarmed at the turn of events.

Despite consistent excellence in training, the 18-year-old England winger was used sparingly by coach Maurizio Sarri, starting just four Premier League matches.

It was therefore not surprising the Hudson–Odoi’s desperation to join Bayern Munich in January.

The England international was again excellent in Chelsea’s 4-1 win at Southampton on Sunday but this comes as no surprise to Green, who spent last season at Stamford Bridge.

‘We were in the dressing room last season and the players were saying “how is he not playing?”,’ Green told BBC Radio 5 Live.

‘He was going out in training and tearing some of the best defenders in the world apart. He was consistently the best in training.

‘It was to the point where some of the best players in the world were standing there applauding what he was doing.’

Sarri did play Hudson-Odoi in various cup matches but the youngster is set to feature regularly under Lampard now he has returned from an Achilles tendon rupture, report the Sportsmail.

And Green believes the player’s natural confidence will enable him to thrive in the game at the highest level.

He said: ‘He has got such a brilliant mind and he is so confident. When he goes out there he will try things and he will try it on the biggest stage.

‘He will do something and you will ask him: ‘When have you done that? Why did you do that?’

‘He would say “because I’ve never done it before and I thought I’d try it”.

Liverpool legends Jamie Redknapp and Graeme Souness have hailed Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount after he netted his fourth Premier League goal of the campaign.

Speaking after the 4-1 win against Southampton, Redknapp said: “To be a top team you have to have a goalscoring midfielder, Chelsea had the best ever in Frank Lampard, now they’ve got Mount and he looks like he’s going to get into at least double figures.

“He’s so composed, he’s ice-cool in front of goal, he’s just a good player, it is as simple as that.”

Graeme Souness added: “He’s got great feet, he wins it and isn’t happy to just be involved with the first part, he’s still there and what jumps out at me is how quick his feet are.

“He gets in the right place, in and around bodies, he’s a genuinely all-round good footballer with a good brain.

“Confidence is growing and that will be more and more as they win games. They’re coming in as relative unknowns, they’ve been out of the first team, now they’re winning back-to-back games, the growth and the belief, they’ll only get better and better.”

There are reports Chelsea and Arsenal are chasing Anderlecht youngster Jeremy Doku.

The 17-year-old has made 12 appearances for the Belgians since debuting at just 16 nearly a year ago.

Both the Gunners and the Blues are currently blessed with an exciting crop of young talent.

Chelsea’s transfer ban has seen boss Frank Lampard take a chance on their up-and-coming English players.

And Calciomercato claim that despite being yet to register a goal or an assist, he has drawn the attention of London giants Chelsea and Arsenal.

The Daily Star report that the speedy winger’s contract with Anderlecht side runs down in 2021.

There are reports Real Madrid are keen to rival interest from Juventus to sign Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante.

Just last week, reports in Italy claimed Maurizio Sarri revealed his interest to acquire the services of the Blues star, hoping to build a formidable midfield for the Old Lady.

The former Chelsea manager therefore requested Juventus hierarchy to launch a bid for kante next summer.

Kante won back-to-back Premier League titles with Leicester City and Chelsea before winning the World Cup with his nation last year.

Diario Sport have now followed up on a report earlier this week in El Desmarque that the France international is on the radar of Los Blancos.

The 28-year-old is now the star player at the West London club following Eden Hazard’s move to Madrid this summer and it is said that Zinedine Zidane is a big admirer of his fellow countryman.

There have been doubts expressed about the form of Casemiro, according to Football Espana, and it is claimed that Kante would be a direct upgrade on the Brazilian holding midfielder.

However, any stumbling block to such a move would be the financial outlay with the Europa League holders set to demand a huge sum for any interested bidder.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admits was a bad day at the office after his team suffered a painful home defeat at the hand of Wolves, but vows that his side will bounce back quickly.

The off-colour Blues went down to two late Adama Traore counter-attack goals as Wolves became the first Premier League side to win at the Etihad in 10 months.

Wolves had three great first-half chances through Patrick Cutrone and Raul Jimenez twice, while Rui Patricio denied Raheem Sterling at the other end.

City dominated possession in the second half, but struggled for clear-cut opportunities.

A David Silva free-kick hit the crossbar, while Bernardo Silva had a shot blocked by Conor Coady.

Wolves took the lead in the 80th minute, Jimenez breaking to play in Traore, who beat Ederson.

Traore’s second in stoppage time was almost a carbon-copy. Again Jimenez broke and played in the winger, who slotted past Ederson’s left hand.

But Guardiola says his team have recovered difficult situations before and can do it again.

“Of course, it was a bad day,” said Pep. “That sometimes happens. We started quite well and then we conceded two situations with two loose balls in our build up.

“We got a little bit nervous. In the second half we controlled the game better. At the end we were attacking, and they had Cutrone and Jimenez and they were clinical.

“When you talk about the game and the way we played it was not good. It was not a good day.”

The City boss also admitted his team have plenty of hard work ahead, with title rivals Liverpool eight points ahead just eight games in.

“It’s a lot of points,” he said. “They’ve not dropped points. Today is the game we created less. We face many teams defending in deep systems. More or less we have found a way to do it, but today we had a problem.

“There’s a lot of games to go. We lost to a good team. They’re physical and strong in the air and fast on the counter-attack and that’s why.

“We have to improve. Maybe we weren’t solid in our build up. When we are, we concede few chances.”

Asked if City still have what it takes to challenge for the title, the boss said: “I know these guys, they can still do it. It was a bad day, a bad game.

“Credit to the opponent. What’s happened has happened. Most teams that have won in the past don’t win the year after. Of course, we want to be close.

“Today was the day we were not on our level. The previous games were good. The distance is big, Liverpool have not dropped points.

“Now is the time to come back. The results will dictate the situation, but we are in October and there’s a long way to go.”

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