Man Utd monitor ex-Chelsea gem after Premier League rejuvenation | OneFootball

Manchester United have been credited with interest in Nottingham Forest winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, who has resurrected his career this season.

Hudson-Odoi was considered one of the brightest talents in English football when he made the breakthrough at Chelsea as an 18-year-old. Bayern Munich were seriously interested in his services, with the Blues thought to have rejected £35m and £22.5m offers either side of his Achilles injury in 2019.

But Hudson-Odoi's progress was disrupted by further fitness trouble and he eventually joined Forest for as little as a £3m initial transfer fee in the summer of 2023.

That fresh start is what Hudson-Odoi, now 24, needed. He established himself as a key starter for Forest in the second half of last season and has enjoyed another strong campaign in 2024/25.

Sky Sports has reported that Manchester United are "keeping an eye on" Hudson-Odoi and his situation at Forest. His contract at the City Ground only has another year left to run, although talks over a new deal are described as "ongoing". Napoli and Roma have also been linked.

Hudson-Odoi has generally been known as a conventional winger or wide forward, on either flank throughout his career, but it seems plausible that United could consider him as an option to boost depth in the wing-back position.

Hudson-Odoi could plausibly be used as a wing-back / Catherine Ivill - AMA/GettyImages

Ruben Amorim's 3-4-2-1 system calls for wing-backs, rather typical wingers, to make the whole system work. Patrick Dorgu was signed under the head coach's watch in January, while Diogo Dalot was one of the first names in the teamsheet prior to a recent injury. Full-backs Noussair Mazraoui and Luke Shaw have often been used as auxiliary centre-backs instead.

Hudson-Odoi isn't new to the wing-back position, having played the role when Thomas Tuchel was Chelsea boss.

"Playing wing-back is more defensive-minded, so you have to judge when to lunge in for a tackle, not just recklessly going in, or making sure you're in the right position when you're covering for a teammate," he commented in early 2022. "Or if you're one-on-one against an attacker you just have to make sure you stand your ground and show him outside or inside where there's more bodies.

"It's definitely added a defensive side to my game and it helps as well, especially if you're playing higher up the pitch, for the pressing side and knowing how to defend from the front."