Hasan Salihamidzic: Bayern 'Still in Talks' with Chelsea over Callum Hudson-Odoi

Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has said the club remain in negotiations with Chelsea regarding a deal for Callum Hudson-Odoi.

According to Ed Aarons of the Guardian, the Bundesliga side lodged a bid of £35 million for the 18-year-old winger earlier in the January window, although he remains a Blues player at this stage.

Speaking about the Chelsea starlet to SportBild (h/t Goal), Salihamidzic was open about Bayern's admiration of the England youth international and said talks are ongoing with the Premier League outfit regarding a transfer.

"We want to sign the player," he said. "I am fully convinced of his abilities. We are in talks with Chelsea. But we have many leaders in our team. That's why it would not be a problem if no player arrived in January. We have to find a good mix between young talents and experienced leaders who carry the team."

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Chelsea have made it clear they are unhappy with the way in which Bayern have pursued the youngster, with manager Maurizio Sarri accusing the German giants of lacking respect following a previous public declaration of interest from Salihamidzic, per Goal's Ryan Benson.

According to Adam Crafton of MailOnline, the player is keen to make the transfer and will not sign any extension the Blues offer him as a result—Hudson-Odoi's contract is set to expire in the summer of 2020.

The winger has seemingly sought to pour some water on the speculation, though, as broadcaster Alex Goldberg relayed:

Per Liam Twomey of ESPN FC, the Stamford Bridge crowd have made their feelings known on the issue:

Chelsea appear determined to keep hold of the winger, and that's not a surprise, as he is rated as one of the brightest talents in English football.

The issue for him until recently has been getting regular games at Chelsea. The Blues have tended to rotate between Eden Hazard, Pedro, Willian and even Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the wide areas, meaning Hudson-Odoi has been limited to cameos.

Since the interest from Bayern emerged, the youngster has become more prominent in the first-team squad and started the recent Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham Hotspur.

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The temptation to switch to Bayern would still be understandable, though. Not only are they an enormous club, but other young players from the Premier League have also moved to the division and flourished, one of which is Hudson-Odoi's England youth team-mate Jadon Sancho:

An offer of £35 million does leave Chelsea in a challenging position, especially if Hudson-Odoi doesn't have any interest in renewing his Blues deal. After all, for all the promise the youngster has shown, he's yet to establish himself as a regular in the XI.

Nevertheless, Hudson-Odoi has all the tools to go to the top of the game, and if a decision is made to sell, it's one Chelsea may come to regret.