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Doha, Qatar | AFP | Bayern Munich, who are targeting young talent in the current transfer window, have confirmed their strong interest in English teenager Callum Hudson-Odoi amid reports the defending German champions have agreed a fee with Chelsea.
“We definitely want to sign him – he has the qualities which would fit very well into our team,” Bayern’s director of sport Hasan Salihamidzic said Wednesday at their winter training camp in Doha.
“He is very fast and good at dribbling.”
According to Sky, Bayern and Chelsea have agreed a transfer of 39 million euros (35 million pounds, $44.6 million), but it is unclear whether Hudson-Odoi would move in the current Bundesliga transfer window, which closes at 1700 GMT on January 31, or in July.
It was reportedly the fourth bid Bayern have tabled for the talented Hudson-Odoi, who has made just one Premier League appearance this season.
If he moves to Munich, he will become the third English teenager currently in the Bundesliga alongside Jadon Sancho, 18, who left Manchester City for Borussia Dortmund in 2017, and Riess Nelson, 19, on loan from Arsenal at Hoffenheim until July.
The 18-year-old Hudson-Odoi, who can play as a winger or forward, played 79 minutes of Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night in the English League Cup semi-final.
His sole Premier League appearance so far this season was as an injury replacement in a 2-1 win at Watford on December 26.
The England Under-19 international is set to face more competition next season at Stamford Bridge with the arrival of US winger Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund in July.
On Wednesday, Bayern also confirmed the signing of French World Cup-winning defender Benjamin Pavard, 22, on a five-year contract from July 1 for 35 million euros.
Despite winning the Bundesliga title for each of the last six seasons, Bayern will resume the 2018/19 campaign on January 18 trailing current leaders Dortmund by six points.
They are looking for more youthful recruits to boost their ageing squad with RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner, and Atletico Madrid defender Lucas Hernandez, both 22, also targeted.
“He is a very interesting player,” said Salihamidzic of Hernandez, who can play at left-back or as a central defender, but is under contract in Madrid until 2024 with a buy-out clause worth 80 million euros.
Werner, who has scored nine goals in 23 appearances for Germany, has been offered an extension to his current contract, which runs until 2020, by Leipzig.
Should he reject the offer, he is likely to transfer out of Leipzig at the end of this season, RB’s director Oliver Mintzlaff has confirmed.
