Callum Hudso-Odoi wants to return to Chelsea and fight for his place in the team once a loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen ends.
After a tough period at Stamford Bridge, which involved being moved to wing-back by former boss Thomas Tuchel, the 21-year-old is out in the Bundesliga having looked to “start afresh” in the summer.
“My mindset was, ‘I have to get out of there’,” he told The Athletic.
“Not in a rude way, as in I don’t like the club or I don’t want to be at the club. Nothing like that.
“But I needed to play football somewhere new. Start afresh. Try the best I can wherever I am. And then go back to Chelsea at the end of the loan.”
Leverkusen have endured a tough start to the season but Hudson-Odoi is confident that his game has improved after only a few weeks in Germany.
“I feel like I’m getting back to being myself again — getting back to that stage before the injury when I was more direct and would dribble and stuff like that,” he added.
“The last couple of seasons I’ve been a bit more backward, passing more; I’ve been more safe.
“I feel I’m doing much better now. I feel sharper and more direct on the ball. All that’s missing are the goals and the assists now. Then all will be good.”
