Chelsea consider offering Hudson-Odoi Hazard’s number 10 shirt to help him agree new deal
Blues trying to re-open contact talks with England winger targeted by Bayern Munich and handing him preferred squad number may form part of their plans to show how much they want him
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CHELSEA are considering offering Callum Hudson-Odoi the number ten shirt used by Eden Hazard in a bid to keep him at the club.
Hudson-Odoi has been locked in transfer talks for the past year with Chelsea but has so far refused to commit his long-term future to Stamford Bridge.
Bayern Munich failed with a £40million bid to sign the England prodigy in January but the winger is understood to still be keen on making the move to Germany.
Yet according to reports, part of Chelsea's plan to prove to Hudson-Odoi that he can play a major part in their future is by offering him his preferred squad number.
say that the Blues, like Bayern, are prepared to offer number 10 as part of any future contract extension they can get him to sign.
The ten shirt is currently occupied at Stamford Bridge by star player Hazard - but it is expected to become available in the coming weeks.
DESPERATE
Hazard has told the club he wants to secure his dream move to Real Madrid once the Europa League final against Arsenal is out of the way.
Real have been desperate to sign the 28-year-old, and are trying to agree a fee with the London club to get the transfer done.
They have seen one offer of £60million turned away, with the Blues hoping to get closer to £100m for their star player.
But a deal is expected to be struck within a month, and Chelsea can then switch their focus on keeping Hudson-Odoi at the club.
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The 18-year-old is currently sidelined with an Achilles injury suffered last month which is expected to rule him out of pre-season training.
That is likely to see Bayern hold off from making a renewed move for the teenager this summer, but it still doesn't help Chelsea with their player entering the final 12 months of his contract.
Hudson-Odoi is keen to know that his path to regular first team football will not be blocked by Chelsea signing more established stars ahead of him.