Borussia Dortmund seek loan deal for Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi

Borussia Dortmund want to sign Callum Hudson-Odoi on loan and have not been put off by Thomas Tuchel’s insistence that Chelsea intend to keep the winger this summer.

Hudson-Odoi is yet to feature for Chelsea in the Premier League this season and is open to joining Dortmund on loan before the transfer window shuts on Tuesday. The 20-year-old wants more opportunities to showcase his talent and is waiting to see whether the Bundesliga club firm up their interest.

Tuchel left the door open for Hudson-Odoi to fight for his future at Chelsea when he was asked about the youngster on Friday. However the European champions have a formidable array of attacking options and Hudson-Odoi, who has struggled to push on since signing a five-year deal worth £120,000 in September 2019, knows he is unlikely to be a regular starter this season.

Hudson-Odoi’s long-term preference would be to prove himself at Chelsea after rising through the club’s academy. There is a growing acceptance, however, that he needs to play regularly and he could benefit from spending the campaign at Dortmund, whose new manager, Marco Rose, has a reputation for attacking football.

The German side have a history of developing young English talent. Jadon Sancho, who joined Manchester United for £73m this summer, made his name at Dortmund, while Jude Bellingham was on the scoresheet when Rose’s side beat Hoffenheim on Friday. Bellingham joined Dortmund from Birmingham in the summer of 2020 and the 18-year-old midfielder was part of England’s squad at Euro 2020.

Chelsea are set to push ahead with their move to sign the Sevilla defender Jules Koundé after selling Kurt Zouma to West Ham for £29.8m. They are still negotiating with Sevilla over Koundé. A loan move for the Atlético Madrid midfielder, Saúl Ñíguez, remains a possibility before the window shuts.