Callum James Hudson-Odoi was born on 7 November 2000 in Wandsworth, south London, and came through the Chelsea academy, which he joined from Charlton Athletic in 2007. A winger who has also played at wing-back, he made his Chelsea first-team debut in 2018 and won his first senior England cap in 2019. He spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen and has played for Nottingham Forest since September 2023.
Family and youth career
He is the second son of Bismark Odoi, a former Ghanaian footballer. His older brother, Bradley, was also a striker and played for Ghana at youth level. Callum attended Whitgift School in Croydon while moving up through Chelsea's age groups. In 2016-17 he won the Under-18 Premier League and the FA Youth Cup with Chelsea, and he won the FA Youth Cup again in 2017-18.
Breaking through at Chelsea
His first-team debut came off the bench on 28 January 2018, in an FA Cup third-round tie against Newcastle United. Three days later, on 31 January, he made his Premier League debut in a home defeat to Bournemouth. His first senior goal came in the Europa League in November 2018, in a 4-0 win over PAOK. In January 2019 Bayern Munich made several bids, reported at around £35m, and he handed in a transfer request, but he stayed in London. His season ended in April 2019, when he ruptured his Achilles tendon against Burnley. He was named Chelsea Young Player of the Year for 2018-19, the season in which the club won the Europa League.
From injury to European champion
In September 2019 he signed a new five-year deal after Chelsea had turned down another Bayern offer. On 11 January 2020 he scored his first Premier League goal, in a 3-0 win over Burnley. On 12 March 2020 he became the first Premier League player to test positive for COVID-19, and the whole first-team squad had to self-isolate. He scored his first Champions League goal away at Krasnodar on 28 October 2020. Under Thomas Tuchel he was often used at wing-back, and he was part of the squad that won the 2020-21 Champions League, followed by the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2021. He made 126 appearances for Chelsea and scored 16 goals.
Loan at Bayer Leverkusen
In August 2022 he joined Bayer Leverkusen on a season-long loan. In Germany he made 21 appearances and scored once, in the Champions League, in a 2-2 draw with Atlético Madrid. He returned to Chelsea in the summer of 2023.
Nottingham Forest
On 1 September 2023 he signed a three-year deal with Nottingham Forest, for a reported fee of £3m plus up to £2m in add-ons. He scored on his debut, a 1-1 draw with Burnley on 18 September 2023. In February 2024 he scored in three consecutive league games, and on 4 May 2024 he struck twice in a 3-1 win at Sheffield United that was key to Forest's survival. He finished that campaign with 8 goals in 29 league appearances. On 14 September 2024 he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at Anfield, Forest's first victory away to Liverpool since 1969. In the 2024-25 Premier League he scored 5 goals in 31 appearances.
International career
He represented England at every level from Under-16 to Under-19. In 2017 he was a runner-up at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship, where he was named in the Team of the Tournament, and later that year he won the FIFA U-17 World Cup with England. He made his senior debut as a substitute on 22 March 2019, in a 5-0 Euro 2020 qualifying win over the Czech Republic. Three days later, on 25 March, he made his first start in a 5-1 win in Montenegro, setting up one of Ross Barkley's goals. He won three senior caps, all in 2019. For the Under-21s he made nine appearances and scored four goals between 2019 and 2021. Through his father he was also eligible to play for Ghana.
Honours
With Chelsea he won the Europa League in 2019, the Champions League in 2021, and the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in 2021. He was an FA Cup runner-up in 2020 and 2021 and an EFL Cup runner-up in 2019 and 2022. At youth level he won the FA Youth Cup in 2017 and 2018, and with England the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017.
Nottingham Forest