The Blades have strong connections at Stamford Bridge and aimed to use those to land the highly rated Hudson-Odoi on loan.
However, they were told by the Blues that the winger would either remain at the club or be loaned to another Premier League side.
In the end it was the former that materialised, with United’s approach coming before Hudson-Odoi truly hit the headlines.
As the Daily Mail outlines, in January Bayern Munich made a £35m bid for the teenager. Bayern remain interested, but have now been joined by Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain in the chase.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have opened fresh contract talks with Hudson-Odoi to convince him to stay. The 18-year-old is about to enter the final year of his current deal in West London.
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Hudson-Odoi is concerned about his lack of game time under Maurizio Sarri. Yet that is likely to change if, as expected, Eden Hazard makes his reported £100m switch to Real Madrid.
In fact, the Blues are prepared to give Hudson-Odoi Hazard’s number 10 shirt when he leaves to show he is an important member of the team.
Links with Chelsea
The Blades established their relationship at Stamford Bridge back in 2016/17 – Chris Wilder’s first season as manager.
A member of Wilder’s backroom staff visited several Premier League clubs to promote the benefit of loaning their young players to United.
The next year, Blues youngster Jamal Blackman arrived in South Yorkshire.
As yet no others have made the switch, but Wilder is keen to utilise his connections this summer. The Blades are preparing for life back in the top flight and loanees will once again prove important.
Wilder currently has only 16 contracted first team players. That is still nine short of the 25 required for registration.