Nottingham Forest may now face a battle with Saudi Arabian clubs in the race to sign Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi.
A report from the Daily Mail at the end of May suggested that Forest were interested in signing Hudson-Odoi this summer.
The 22-year-old is returning to Chelsea with his loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen coming to an end.
Hudson-Odoi will find it difficult to get playing time at Chelsea though, especially after a disappointing spell in Germany.
Hudson-Odoi recorded just seven Bundesliga starts and another seven substitute appearances, managing one assist and no goals.
This was supposed to be the loan spell to help Hudson-Odoi’s development and push him closer to the Chelsea first team.
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That hasn’t happened at all and Forest are now thought to be interested in a deal.
Steve Cooper certainly knows Hudson-Odoi well; he coached the winger in the England ranks and they won the Under-17 World Cup together back in 2017.
We have already seen Cooper snap up two players from that squad for Forest in Morgan Gibbs-White and Jonathan Panzo.
Hudson-Odoi may be able to get back to his best under Cooper but Forest may now miss out…
Callum Hudson-Odoi wanted in Saudi Arabia amid Nottingham Forest interest
Sky Sports report that Hudson-Odoi and his representatives are now set to hold talks with Chelsea over the winger’s future.
Hudson-Odoi is entering the final year of his staggering £120,000-a-week contract and wants to know whether he has a future at Stamford Bridge.
The Athletic add that Hudson-Odoi is now wanted by two Saudi Arabian clubs as they continue to shop for Chelsea cast-offs.
N’Golo Kante has already gone whilst Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech are nearing moves of their own.
Hudson-Odoi could now follow suit and those Saudi Arabian clubs may be more willing to match his wages than Forest are right now.
Their interest certainly complicates matters for Forest and will surely dent Cooper’s hopes of a summer deal.