Omari Hutchinson has revealed the key figure in his decision to quit Arenal for Chelsea, and believes his move has been vindicated despite only making two first team appearances for the Blues.
Hutchinson was in the Chelsea academy from 2008 to 2012 before joining Charlton and then Arsenal, but returned to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2022 on a free transfer despite seemingly being on the brink of his big break under Mikel Arteta.
He was regularly included in first team squads at the Emirates at the end of the 2021/22 season before moving to Chelsea, for whom he made just two appearances last term.
He’s since been loaned out to Ipswich, and has shown flashes of his talent in the Championship side’s excellent start to the season – they’re currently second, behind Leicester on goal difference.
And Hutchinson believes he can emulate Chelsea captain Reece James, who thrived at Wigan on loan from the Blues, before making the grade at his boyhood club.
He told The Athletic: “I was at Arsenal from 11 to playing for the under-23s. I have a lot of friends there and obviously the coaching staff, so it was a difficult decision to leave.
“I always felt loved there. All the fans were waiting for me to push on into the first team. But things didn’t just work out for one reason or another.
“I just had to get over stuff like that. I spoke to the people at Chelsea, saw the pathway they had for me, knew the staff there and some of the players. I already knew Reece James and he told me to come. Everyone gave Chelsea a positive review. I believe it has worked out so far.
“Reece has been on the journey that I want to go on — from the academy, to a loan in the Championship, to the first team.
“He told me to go and do my thing at Ipswich, to show what I’m about. Then come back and be ready (for Chelsea). Reece was always on my team whenever I trained with the senior squad last season, so I never got to take him on.
“I hope to be taking him on soon.”
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