Report: Manager attempting to convince 21-year-old Chelsea to switch his international allegiance from England

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Chris Hughton has been pictured speaking to the father of Chelsea forward Callum Hudson-Odoi ahead of possibly taking over the Ghana job.

Citi Sports uploaded the photo, with the belief that Hughton met Hudson-Odoi’s father in order to convince the forward to change national allegiance.

The former Newcastle United manager is favourite be named the next Ghana boss, following the dismissal of Milovan Rajevac.

He has seemingly already turned his attentions to persuading those of Ghanaian heritage to join forces with the Black Stars.

Hudson-Odoi slots nicely into this category and has been of interest to the African nation for some time.

Why is Hudson-Odoi allowed to play for Ghana?

Despite having already made three appearances or England’s senior side, the 21-year-old still meets the criteria for changing countries.

A player is able to play a maximum of three competitive games for an international team and be able to switch their footballing nationality, but only if they were made under the age of 21 and not in the ‘final stage’ of a tournament.

Chelsea’s academy graduate hasn’t been selected by Gareth Southgate for a major competition yet, having missed out on the 2020 European Championship squad.

If a player does shift their alliance, they must wait three years from their previous cap with one association until they can appear for another.

Unless he is picked by Southgate in the next few months, Hudson-Odoi could become available for Ghana in November, just before the World Cup in Qatar gets underway.

At the moment, the young attacker is out of contention for England, meaning altering his sporting birth certificate might be his best route to playing at the competition.

Of course, this may change if his form dramatically improves between now and the end of the campaign, or players get injured.

But if Hughton’s pitch was convincing enough, the next international jersey Hudson-Odoi pulls on could be slightly jazzier than the white of the Three Lions.

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