Ghanaian-born England winger Callum Hudson-Odoi says his mind is “just open” as talks of switching international allegiance to feature for the Black Stars at the 2022 Fifa World Cup gather momentum.
It is no secret that the 22-year-old – currently on loan at German Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen – is wanted by Ghana.
Talks of a possible switch heightened when he travelled to Ghana, the country of his father Bismark Odoi – an ex-Hearts of Oak player – in summer 2021.
Hudson-Odoi was seen at a number of public events and capped his holidays with a visit to Ghana’s presidency where he interacted with H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo.
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Fifa’s eligibility rules favour both Ghana and the winger despite earning three senior caps for England in 2019 – only one of which is a competitive appearance.
Per the rules, there must be a three-year gap after the player’s final senior appearance before he can register for a new international team.
And that allows Hudson-Odoi to switch allegiance but only on November 17 (the date he last played for the Three Lions) at the earliest.
It is also the same day the Black Stars will be playing Switzerland in their final warm-up game to the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
With the Qatar 2022 Mundial just less than a month away, Hudson-Odoi’s expected international switch remains unresolved.
Touching on the subject in a wide-range interview with BBC Sport, the Chelsea player doesn’t seem close to a decision yet.
“Nothing I would say at the moment on camera, I would love to tell you, but I couldn’t say.
“At the moment, it’s more just focusing on the best I can do here [Bayer Leverkusen]. You never know what will happen in the future.”
Hudson-Odoi then added: “Obviously the Ghana-England situation has been on my mind for a while.
“But I think right now it was more of the focus on coming here, really getting myself back into shape, playing a lot of games and just feeling like myself. Right now my mind is just open.”
The 2022 World Cup kicks off November 20 and the Black Stars of Ghana open their campaign in Group H against Portugal four days later. Games against South Korea and Uruguay follow suit also within four-day intervals.
