Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has confirmed that the club will attempt to sign Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi when the summer transfer window opens at the end of the season.
The Bundesliga giants were open in their pursuit of the 18-year-old, who has struggled for consistent first-team minutes this season. The Blues rejected a handful of bids for Hudson-Odoi, the last of which is said to have been worth around £35m.
3-0, nice to contribute with a goal, good team performance🔥⚽️ pic.twitter.com/syDuoEwWCs
— Callum Hudson-Odoi (@Calteck10) January 27, 2019
Speaking to TZ, Rummenigge insisted that director Hasan Salihamidzic will not be deterred in his pursuit of the youngster. He said: “Hasan [Salihamidzic] is a bit like Uli [Hoeneß].
"In the past we have often had transfers that did not work out on the first try — only on the second. And just as I know Hasan, he will work to make it happen on the second try.
“We want to have the best quality of players at Bayern and Hasan is totally convinced of this player. That’s the reason.”
In a separate interview with TZ, Rummenigge elaborated on the club's feelings towards Hudson-Odoi. He said: “The only thing that Hasan would have been happy to finish was this player from Chelsea, because he had practically fallen in love with this player on account of his quality.
“I wouldn’t deny now that the aggressive courting didn’t go over well in London. But you also can’t forget that Hasan Salihamidzic had to give the player a sign somewhere. He wasn’t directly in touch with him personally, since that’s not allowed after all, but the player still needed to get a signal as to whether Bayern Munich completely stood behind him.
“Everything else was really just rumours. We don’t absolutely need reinforcements at these positions in the second half of the season. That’s a subject for the future that we’ll address in the coming months and decide accordingly.”
Source : 90min