Should Callum Hudson-Odoi play for Ghana?
Yes he should.
Chelsea starlet Callum Hudson-Odoi has made headlines across the African football sphere for his arrival in Ghana for vacation just days after lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy with the London side.
He was shown on social media in Accra hanging around with famed Ghanaian musician King Promise before playing in a friendly match donning his Chelsea kit.
Some are calling his trip to Ghana a homecoming, while others are even believing it is a sign he will switch his international footballing allegiance from England (his country of birth) to Ghana (the country of his parents).
Ghana (and Ghanaian football) runs deep in his family’s history. Aside from his Ghanaian ancestry, his father Bismark Odoi played for famed Ghanaian side Accra Hearts of Oak and his older brother Bradley (who is Callum’s agent) was born in Accra and played for Ghana’s U20 side.
The flashy winger made his Chelsea debut in January 2018, quickly impressing to the point that German giants Bayern Munich made numerous public bids for the youngster.
He’s been playing senior level football for Chelsea for so long that we forget he’s only 20.
After representing England at every level from U-16 to U-19, Hudson-Odoi was called up to the senior squad for Euro 2020 qualifiers by manager Gareth Southgate in March 2019. After coming on as a substitute in a 5-0 win over the Czech Republic at Wembley Stadium he became the youngest player to make his debut for England in a competitive match aged 18 years and 135 days, breaking a record set by Manchester United legend Duncan Edwards in 1955.
He registered an assist in his first start three days later, before appearing against Kosovo in another Euro qualifier in November of that year.
That match against Kosovo was the last time he played for the Three Lions, almost two years ago.
Despite signing a five-year contract extension in September 2019, he struggled for game time under Frank Lampard - making just 7 Premier League starts in the 19/20 season.
The appointment of Thomas Tuchel as manager in January 2021 gave a short boost of energy to his Chelsea career, with the winger frequently appearing in the German manager’s teams. Unfortunately this would not stick, as he appeared in only five of sixteen games for the Blues from April to the end of the season.
Subsequently, England manager Gareth Southgate did not include the 20-year-old in his squad for the Euro 2020 tournament - reopening the Pandora’s Box of African football fans wondering if players in Hudson-Odoi’s position should switch nationalities to their African roots.
Hudson-Odoi making his international debut for England in Euro 2020 qualifiers.
Able to switch his international allegiance to Ghana due to FIFA’s new eligibility rules, the Chelsea man will likely consider his international future when he watches England at the Euros this summer from his couch.
It’s an interesting dilemma for Hudson-Odoi. Once one of the world’s most sought-after youngsters, a tough two years has seen him fall down the pecking order at club and country - although it is clear he is still a player with an abundance of ability and potential.
The recent emergence of fellow English starlets Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, and Mason Greenwood has made it even harder for Hudson-Odoi to envision a future as a starter for the Three Lions. Although still aged 20, who knows how good he could be in a few years’ time.
In the immediate future though, keeping next January’s AFCON in mind, switching to Ghana could be very enticing.
For Ghanaian and African football, the benefits of an established player like Callum Hudson-Odoi switching to Ghana are so obvious. He would be the best attacker on the team by some distance, and would give Ghana fans significantly more hope in their attacking corps heading into next year's AFCON. Additionally, the prospect of him linking up with Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus (20), Ajax-bound Kamaldeen Sulemana (19), and Liverpool-bound Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (17) would make Ghana a force to be reckoned with on the international stage for at least the next decade.
Not to mention, a player of his caliber switching to an African nation could encourage other Afro-European stars to follow his path or even persuade youngsters to skip playing for their adopted nations at youth level and play for their African counterparts. The impact of the latter would be incredibly significant for African football, as having elite youth talents playing in African youth teams would go a long way towards improving the level of youth football on the continent.
For Hudson-Odoi, the player would likely prefer the glamor of playing for England over Ghana and obviously has strong ties to the Three Lions considering he has been a part of their setup since he was 14.
However, should he switch international allegiance, the benefits to him would be multifold.
Not only would he be the best attacker on the team and get to pull the strings on the pitch, but he would also have millions of soccer-loving Ghanaians fervently supporting him at club and country. It could do wonders for his brand, as he would be the face of his country’s football team alongside fellow London-based Premier League footballer Thomas Partey.
He would be tasked with ensuring the return of the Black Stars as an African football powerhouse. And should Hudson-Odoi, Kudus, Sulemana, and Issahaku fulfill their potentials, a deep run in the World Cup wouldn’t be out of the question.
Imagine what he could do for Ghana at the coming AFCON and World Cup, it would almost surely trump cameos against the likes of Kosovo and Montenegro.
At the end of the day, the choice is obviously his. Where his allegiance lies, and if it has wavered since being snubbed from the Euros squad, is only known by him and his family. But given his precarious international future with England, his Ghanian connection, and the glory that would come with putting on the Black Stars shirt, it would make a lot of sense for him to play for Ghana.
