Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi excluded from England U-21 squad again amid Ghana switch

Chelsea winger, Callum Hudson-Odoi has been excluded from the England Under-21 squad again.

The 21-year-old turned down a call up for the last break, citing a determination to focus on getting into Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI, and there has been no change in his stance since.

Hudson-Odoi has made only one Premier League appearance so far this season, although he appeared off the bench in last night’s Champions League defeat away to Juventus, and wants his sole focus to be on winning a more regular place in the club side. His likely unavailability is not linked to reports that he is considering representing Ghana.

The English U-21 side will play away to Slovenia and Andorra in the European Championship.

When Hudson-Odoi made his initial decision last month, Carsley said that the door would remain open for him going forward.

“Callum is a player that we really like,” the former Everton midfielder said.

“I’ve had some really good conversations with him and his advisor and Callum felt that it wasn’t the right time for him at the minute to come with England.

“He’s stayed back at Chelsea to work on his development there. I respected that decision and that was it really.”

Hudson Odoi has been linked to play for Ghana national team for the past months following his visit to the West African country.

Hudson-Odoi is the son of former Hearts of Oak midfielder Bismark Odoi.

He has been a long-term target of the Ghana Football Association to consider a nationality switch despite capping three times for England at the senior level.

Despite having made three competitive appearances for England’s senior team, Hudson-Odoi, 20, meets the FIFA criteria for switching countries.

A player can make up to three competitive appearances and still switch allegiance, so long as they were made under the age of 21 and were not at the ‘final stage’ of a tournament

Hudson-Odoi’s failure to make Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2020 squad, therefore, means he has yet to appear for England’s senior team at a major tournament, although he did feature at the European U21 Championships in March.