Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi says he made a ‘very good decision’ in choosing to sign a new five-year contract at the club in September.

The Blues academy product handed in a transfer request in January after Bayern Munich submitted an offer of £35m for the youngster.

Hudson-Odoi was frustrated at his lack of game time under Maurizio Sarri, who belatedly handed the attacker his Premier League debut in January.

The England international ended 2018/19 having made 10 top-flight appearances, but he looks set to become a much more important first-team player under Frank Lampard.

The former Derby boss has already made fellow youth team graduates Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham key men at Stamford Bridge.

And after making his first Premier League start of the season in Sunday’s 4-1 victory over Southampton, Hudson-Odoi is convinced that Chelsea is the right place for him to be at this stage of his career.

‘The club have done so much for me and I’m so thankful for that,’ he told BBC Sport.

‘The decision that I made was a very good one for me and my family. We all thought that it was the right club to be at.

‘I’ve been here all my life, so there’s no need to change yet. My mum and dad are happy where they are and I’m happy where I am.’

Hudson-Odoi played 80 minutes of Chelsea’s win against Southampton, having now recovered from an Achilles injury he picked up in April.

And the 18-year-old reflected on his time on the sidelines and praised the atmosphere within the squad under Lampard.

‘It’s been a very long time that I’ve been out. It’s been a crazy journey to come back,’ he added.

‘We’ve done really well,’ said Hudson-Odoi. ‘We had a slow start but picked up really well.

‘The camp is more buzzing because we have an ex-player back as manager. It’s a great feeling for us. We’re all enjoying our football at the moment, happy and smiling. It’s a great vibe around the camp, everyone wants to be there.’

Sunday’s victory at St Mary’s moved Chelsea into fifth place in the Premier League table.