Callum Hudson-Odoi is understood to be the subject of interest from Manchester United
The three-time England international joined Nottingham Forest for just £5m in the summer of 2023 after a failed loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen and has established himself as a key player at the City Ground with 13 goals and three assists in 58 league appearances across his first two seasons.
The 24-year-old is finally showing signs of living up to the hype that surrounded him when he won back-to-back FA Youth Cups as a youngster at Stamford Bridge along with the Under-17 World Cup with England.
Sky Sports understands Ruben Amorim is a keen admirer of Hudson-Odoi and sees the star as the calibre of player with the versatility to slot into his favoured 3-4-2-1 formation in one of the wing-back roles.
Could Callum Hudson-Odoi be tempted to join Manchester United?
Manchester United are drawing up plans for a huge summer rebuild as they come to terms with what has been their worst season since suffering relegation in 1974.
Ruben Amorim has failed to hit the ground running after replacing Erik ten Hag and is currently in charge of a side that sit in an unthinkable 16th placed position. However, United have had some respite in the form of Europa League and could still sneak into one of the Champions League positions if they can beat Tottenham in this year’s final in Bilbao.
Meanwhile, Hudson-Odoi and Nottingham Forest are experiencing their best league campaign since the 1994/95 campaign when they finished third under Frank Clark. The Tricky Trees looked destined to finish in one of the five Champions League places earlier in the season but their recent dip now means they need a huge upturn in fortunes if they are to climb up from seventh position.
Incredibly, United despite picking up 23 less points than Forest at this moment in time, could find themselves beating clinching one of the Champions League places ahead of the City Ground club which could make United a tempting proposition to Hudson-Odoi as he bids to work his way into Thomas Tuchel’s England setup for the 2026 World Cup.
The intriguing swap deal Nottingham Forest could look to strike
Nottingham Forest are understood to be determined to keep Hudson-Odoi on board, with talks thought to be ongoing between both parties. However, if he was to depart it would leave a void in their squad in terms of creativity and goals which would need to be filled by Nuno Espirito Santo.
This could lead to Forest making a surprise and daring move for forgotten United man Antony. The Brazil international has quite simply never looked like living up to the £85m price tag that United paid Ajax in 2022 but has shown signs of his full potential during a fruitful loan spell at Real Betis, scoring eight goals and registering five assists in 25 appearances across all competitions since January.
Betis are not thought to be in a position to afford United’s wages nor Antony’s supposed £30m price tag, via Football Insider. However, Forest, who have ambitions of remaining in the upper echelons of the Premier League table could potentially have the clout to sign Antony with a slight wage cut while offering him regular first team football ahead of the 2026 World Cup where he’ll look to represent Brazil.
With European on the horizon at the City Ground, Forest could look to strike a deal for Antony for a small fee, with Hudson-Odoi potentially moving to Old Trafford in the opposite direction. It would be a huge gamble, but if Hudson-Odoi is set for pastures new anyway, a punt on Antony - a player who has the potential to write off his past Premier League spell as an embarrassing blip - could be worthwhile.
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