Chelsea set to regret £62m transfer mistake as Bayern Munich offer laid bare

Football is a game of moments; sliding doors that once closed may never open again, and everyone is left wondering what may have been.

Chelsea are no exception to that rule, with questions over keeping Kevin De Bruyne or Mohammed Salah and whether they'd be the world class players the Blues require, or if Thomas Tuchel could've turned things around last season. Another that seems to be in progress surrounds the past and future of Callum Hudson-Odoi.

The 22-year-old is a graduate of the Cobham academy, joining at just age seven and working his way through the ranks to the first-team. At youth level, he managed to win the Under-18s Premier League title and back-to-back FA Youth Cup trophies on top of an Under-17s World Cup with England.

Everything pointed towards a bright future for the forward, who made his debut at 17-years-old in a 3-0 loss to Bournemouth in 2018. That led to interest from elsewhere, with Bayern Munich eventually making their move in 2020 to try and land him in a loan-to-buy deal.

The initial offer from the Bundesliga champions was a loan offer with an option to buy valued at £70million, such was his promise at the time. However, that was rejected by manager Frank Lampard, who had a burgeoning track record at developing young talent into first-team starters.

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The departure of the former midfielder saw the arrival of Tuchel, who didn't have a defined position for Hudson-Odoi within his system. Wing-back was an area he could play, but didn't fit his strengths and there was a clear difference between himself and what the manager wanted.

Add to that a string of injuries including a serious Achilles problem, and