Callum Hudson-Odoi has publicly denied social media speculation that he was among the celebrities to visit Jeffrey Epstein's island. The England international winger labelled such claims 'absurd' as he went out of his way to make things clear ahead of Nottingham Forest's FA Cup clash with Blackpool on Sunday.
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Epstein died in prison back in 2019 while awaiting trial over sex trafficking charges. A number of high-profile figures were named in relation to the former financier when court documents were made public on Thursday.
Rumours had previously circulated online surrounding who could feature on the list. Hudson-Odoi's name popped up among the speculation despite no evidence ever linking the 23-year-old with Epstein.
The Forest wide-man's name did not feature on the list, which has been reported by Newsweek. To clear things up once and for all, Hudson-Odoi then issued a public statement via his Instagram account.
"I have seen this circulating around social media for a while now, and I wasn't going to comment on it as it is absurd (and I would've been a child at the time)," wrote the youngster.
"However, understanding my position as a role model, I would like to make it absolutely clear that I have never been a part of the Epstein scandal nor have I ever been to Epstein island; so please stop tagging me in these posts. Thank you."
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Hudson-Odoi was one of the most highly-regarded youngsters in Chelsea's academy when he broke into the first-team as a 17-year-old. He went on to make 126 senior appearances for the Blues, scoring 16 goals.
The wide man spent last season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen but failed to catch fire under Xabi Alonso. He subsequently returned to Stamford Bridge before leaving on a permanent basis during the summer, with Forest forking out £5million.
Hudson-Odoi scored a screamer on his debut - a 1-1 draw with Burnley - and that remains his only goal this season. Forest recently changed managers, with Steve Cooper giving way to Nuno Espirito Santo in the dugout.
The switch-up seems to have been a promising one for the three-times-capped England international, having featured in all three of the Portuguese's games thus far, including a start in the 3-1 win at Newcastle United on Boxing Day.
