Callum James Hudson-Odoi, an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for German Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen on loan from Premier League club Chelsea, has broken the silence to feature for Ghana in Qatar.
Hudson-Odoi was a member of the England young team that triumphed in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which was held in India. England defeated Brazil 5-2 to claim the title.
He played a key role in the England U-17 team’s defeat in the UEFA European U-17 Championship final, preceding their victory in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in India. Coincidentally, they defeated the Spanish side before losing to them in the European contest.
The winger’s path to first-team regularity has been more challenging, but Hudson-Odoi’s tale is typical of Chelsea’s academy graduates following a strong showing for the English youth team.
He joined the squad when he was eight years old, made his first team debut at age 17, and had flashes of brilliance when he came off the bench. He was named Chelsea’s Young Player of the Year in 2018–19 as the Blues won the UEFA Europa League that season.
Hudson-Odoi took inspiration from English winger Jadon Sancho, who he spoke to before making the Leverkusen move in August after former manager Thomas Tuchel left him out of the squad at the start of this season.
The winger, born to Ghanaian parents, has already played three times for England but has not gotten a call-up into Gareth Southgate’s team in recent times, which implies he will not be able to make England’s final squad for Qatar 2022.
The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has been able to lure talents such as Iñaki Williams and Tariq Lamptey to feature for the Black Stars and has planned to make Callum Hudson-Odoi feature for the team, especially at the World Cup in Qatar.
In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the winger has broken silence on the issue of featuring for the Black Stars, as the adventurous editors can speculate.
Hudson-Odoi revealed when quizzed on the decision to play for Ghana, he stated, “Nothing I would say at the moment on camera. I would love to tell you, but I couldn’t say. At the moment, it’s more just focusing on the best I can do here. You never know what will happen in the future. Obviously, the Ghana-England situation has been on my mind for a while. But I think right now it was more of the focus on coming here, really getting myself back into shape, playing a lot of games and just feeling like myself. Right now, my mind is just open. “
