Fulham have increased their offer for Callum Hudson-Odoi to £4.5m as they continue to play hardball with Chelsea in their pursuit of the wantaway winger.

The Whites know that the 22 year-old Wandsworth-born wide man wants to make a permanent move away from Stamford Bridge, with his preferred destination being Craven Cottage. They are confident they will be able to strike a swift deal on personal terms with Hudson-Odoi and feel that they are a strong negotiating position as his contract with Chelsea has less than twelve months to run.

Chelsea dropped their asking price from £10m to £8m and are likely to accept a fee of lower than that amount with Hudson-Odoi surplus to requirements under new manager Mauricio Pochettino. He has struggled to hit the heights of an outstanding debut season with the senior side that saw him earn a first England senior cap aged eighteen, but Fulham head coach Marco Silva feels he can reignite his career by the banks of the River Thames.

Hudson-Odoi has trained with Chelsea’s under-21s for the past three weeks and was spotted at Fulham’s historic home yesterday. Rival suitors Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace have been put off by Chelsea’s valuation of the winger, who spent the second half of last season at Bayer Leverkusen on loan.