Omari Hutchinson
Omari Elijah Giraud-Hutchinson (born 30 October 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea. Born in England, he plays for the Jamaica national team.
|
Hutchinson playing for Ipswich Town in December 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Omari Elijah Giraud-Hutchinson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 30 October 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Redhill, England[2] | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger, attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Chelsea | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2012 | Chelsea | ||
| 2012–2014 | Charlton Athletic | ||
| 2015–2022 | Arsenal | ||
| 2022–2023 | Chelsea | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2023– | Chelsea | 1 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Ipswich Town (loan) | 44 | (10) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2020 | England U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2021 | England U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2023– | Jamaica | 2 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:07, 4 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:04, 14 March 2023 (UTC) | |||
Early life
Hutchinson was born in Redhill, England.[4] He grew up in South London along with his older brother O'Shaye, who has played for Non-League Burgess Hill Town, East Grinstead Town and Ramsgate.[5]
Club career
Early career
Hutchinson began his career with Chelsea,[6] joining in 2008.[7] In a video posted on Chelsea's official website in late July 2023, Hutchinson's father stated that he had been released twice by Chelsea as a child.[8] In 2012, he was scouted and signed by Charlton Athletic while playing football in the Addicks car park as his brother, Oshaye, was training with the youth team.[9] While at Charlton, he caught the eye of North-London rivals Arsenal, having impressed in a game against them.[10]
After two years with Charlton, Hutchinson left the club and trials with Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford followed, but ultimately led to nothing. Hutchinson took a year-long break from academy football to play futsal with his friends, before joining Arsenal at under-12 level.[9] Hutchinson also stated that he spent time with Crystal Palace prior to joining Arsenal.[8]
At the age of twelve, Hutchinson took part in a South-London tournament hosted by Brazilian football legend Pelé, who praised Hutchinson for his skills. At the tournament, he also met football content creators F2Freestylers, who invited him to star in a video on their YouTube channel. The video, showcasing Hutchinson's skills, has amassed over four million views.[9]
In November 2020, Hutchinson signed his first professional contract with Arsenal.[11] He was handed a place on the bench for the Arsenal senior team for the first time in their 1–0 FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest on 9 January 2022.[12]
Return to Chelsea
On 16 July 2022, Hutchinson rejoined Chelsea for an undisclosed fee.[13] He made his professional debut on 5 January 2023 in a 1–0 home defeat against Manchester City, coming on as a second-half substitute.[14]
Loan to Ipswich Town
On 20 July 2023, Hutchinson agreed to join newly-promoted Championship side Ipswich Town on a season-long loan.[15] Despite being unable to fully cement himself in the starting eleven, he was awarded the EFL Championship Player of the Month award for February 2024 having scored three injury-time goals, also contributing two assists. On 30th June 2024 Hutchison signed for newly promoted Ipswich Town for a club record 22 million pounds.[16]
International career
Born in England, Hutchinson is of Jamaican descent. He is a youth international for England, having represented the England U17s and U19s.[17][18]
He was called up to the Jamaica national team in May 2022, and made his unofficial debut in a 6–0 loss to Catalonia in the same month.[19][20] In November 2022, Hutchinson was told by Chelsea not to report for international duty with Jamaica, so that he could be involved in first team matches with The Blues.[7]
He made his first official start for Jamaica in a 1–0 loss to Trinidad and Tobago on 11 March 2023.[21]
Media
Hutchinson was involved in the Amazon Original sports docuseries All or Nothing: Arsenal, which documented the club by spending time with the coaching staff and players behind the scenes both on and off the field throughout their 2021–22 season.[22][23]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 4 May 2024[24]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal U21 | 2021–22[25] | — | — | — | — | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | 4 | 2 | |||||
| Chelsea U21 | 2022–23[26] | — | — | — | — | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 4 | 1 | |||||
| Chelsea | 2022–23[26] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023–24[27] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Ipswich Town (loan) | 2023–24[27] | Championship | 44 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 50 | 11 | ||
| Career total | 45 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 60 | 14 | ||
- Appearances in EFL Trophy
Honours
Ipswich Town
- EFL Championship runner-up: 2023–24[29]
Individual
- EFL Championship Player of the Month: February 2024[16]
- Ipswich Town Young Player of the Year: 2023–24[30]
References
- "Premier League clubs publish 2020/21 retained lists". premierleague.com. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
- "Omari Hutchinson". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- "Who is Omari Hutchinson? Former Arsenal wonderkid with big Chelsea future under Graham Potter". football.london.
- "A forward and a full back sign on". isthmian.
- Burke, Elias (25 March 2022). "Malcolm Ebiowei: From representing England with Jamal Musiala to cementing his place in Derby's first team". theathletic.com. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
Initially spotted as a five-year-old at Chelsea's pre-academy development centre in Lambeth, Chelsea successfully fended off other suitors to sign [Malcolm Ebiowei] up. The Bermondsey-raised winger was part of a group including Omari Hutchinson and Brooke Norton-Cuffy, who later followed Ebiowei from west to north London to join Arsenal's famed Hale End academy as youngsters.
(subscription required) - Johnson, Simon (7 November 2022). "Chelsea tell Omari Hutchinson not to report for Jamaica duty". theathletic.com. Retrieved 8 January 2023. (subscription required)
- "Omari Hutchinson - Over the Road". chelseafc.com. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- Watts, Charles (9 September 2021). "Omari Hutchinson: Arsenal's teenage internet sensation who wowed Pele". goal.com. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- "Young Guns: Omari Hutchinson". arsenal.com. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- "Omari Hutchinson signs first pro contract". arsenal.com. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- de Roché, Art (12 January 2022). "Omari Hutchinson: Driving runs, a somersault celebration and maybe a call-up for the semi-final?". theathletic.com. Retrieved 7 March 2022. (subscription required)
- "Young forward Hutchinson joins Chelsea". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- "Chelsea 0-1 Manchester City". BBC Sport. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
- "Hutchinson joins Ipswich on loan". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
- "Sky Bet Championship: Manager & Player of the Month February winners". www.efl.com. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
- Dean, Tom (10 February 2020). "Young Lions round off Marbella trip with a 4–0 win over Ukraine". The Football Association. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- Smith, Frank (10 November 2021). "England MU19s 4–0 Andorra". The Football Association. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- "Arsenal's Omari Hutchinson named in Jamaica squad for first time". Loop News. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
- "Reggae Boyz thrashed by Catalonia". Radio Jamaica News. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- Reid, Paul (11 March 2023). "T&T edge Reggae Boyz 1–0 in friendly international". jamaicaobserver.com. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- "Full 'All Or Nothing' trailer released". Arsenal F.C. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- All or Nothing: Arsenal | Official Full Trailer 🎬. Amazon Prime Video Sport. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022 – via YouTube.
- "Omari Hutchinson". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- "Games played by Omari Hutchinson in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- "Games played by Omari Hutchinson in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- "Games played by Omari Hutchinson in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
- "Omari Hutchinson". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- "Ipswich Town Promoted to Premier League". Ipswich Town F.C. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- "End of Season Award Winners". Ipswich Town F.C. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.