Chelsea’s transfer ban means predicting what the summer holds for the Blues is a challenge. No one knows when FIFA will make a decision on the club’s appeal.

One situation that can’t be avoided, though, is the future of Eden Hazard. With just 12 months left to run on his current deal and no sign of a new contract being signed, many fans are resigned to losing him to Real Madrid this summer.

Without the means to replace him properly due to the embargo hanging over the club’s head, Chelsea’s summer could prove to be a very troubled one.

A report in the Daily Express today, however, have shone some light on what the club plan to do if they can’t replace Hazard in the transfer market. The plan is to make Callum Hudson-Odoi a key first-team player in his favoured position.

The 18-year-old has been used ostensibly on the right-hand side with manager Maurizio Sarri having explained that Hazard’s preference for the left means he has had little choice.

The Chelsea boss knows Hudson-Odoi’s key strength is cutting in from a left wing position, as he said when assessing his performance for England against Montenegro last month.

With Hazard likely to depart, it will be Hudson-Odoi who slots in, and it could also enable the Blues to get the teenager to sign a new contract at Stamford Bridge.

The player wants more game time, and with Hazard’s departure, he would be guaranteed matches in his best position. Playing the majority of games would hopefully persuade him to extend his stay at the club.

Supporters would, of course, be delighted with that outcome, but it seems it would have to come at a price: the loss of Hazard and that shouldn’t be underestimated.

Having talented young wingers in Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic on the flanks should excite fans, but they are not the end product and patience will be required with both of them if they are to succeed.

The Premier League is fiercely competitive and the failure to replace Hazard with a marquee signing could leave Chelsea playing catch up once more at the top of the table.

So, while the prospect of Hudson-Odoi staying for the long term should be welcomed, it is only making the best of a bad situation that the club finds itself in, with the transfer ban driving them towards playing their young talent.