Chelsea in contact to sign Barcelona star Coutinho as Hudson-odoi told to stay by Southgate

Gareth Southgate has told Liverpool and Manchester United transfer target Callum Hudson-Odoi to stay at Chelsea.

Hudson-Odoi is regarded as one of the finest talents in the Premier League, despite only making five appearances for Sarri in the top-flight this season, and he has been tipped to be the long-term successor to Eden Hazard, who is linked with a mega money swoop to Spanish giants Real Madrid.

However, Hudson-Odoi is not happy with the kind of game time he has been receiving and almost left the club during the January transfer window, with German giants Bayern Munich trying to conclude a £35 million transfer deal.

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However, Southgate says he should bide his time here after handing the winger his full England debut against the Czech Republic last Friday.

‘If you look at number of appearances, he has actually been on the field quite a lot,’ said Southgate on the Sky Sports website.

‘And I know from when we were talking with the club earlier in the season how much faith Maurizio has in him. He has got some outstanding players just in front of him but he’s slowly getting more and more game time.

‘So, I think he’s maturing well. There doesn’t need to be a rush for him. We’ve seen that with Marcus Rashford and his development. He’s getting first-team football and that’s important. For us, I think his progress is good.’

Meanwhile, the representatives of Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho have reportedly contacted us about a possible summer transfer deal.

Coutinho was regarded as an absolute superstar during his time at Liverpool and his performances earned him a big money move to Barcelona in a deal that was reportedly close to the £167 million mark, but despite being an integral part of the side last season, he has failed down the pecking order this year.

He has only netted four times in just 26 appearances for the Barcelona side this season, and  there has been a lot of claims in the media which have already suggested that Barcelona will listen to offers for his signature in the summer.

And according to reports on AS website,  his agents have started making moves about leaving Barcelona at the end of the season have made contact the club over a possible summer move, knowing we may need an immediate replacement for Eden Hazard.

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