Chelsea seem as though they have a genuine star on their hands in Omari Hutchinson.
That is according to a tweet from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, who has relayed comments from Blues manager Graham Potter which point to a summer masterclass from Todd Boehly in luring the 19-year-old from Arsenal to SW6.
What’s the word?
Hutchinson was in action for Chelsea in their 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa in a mid-season friendly in Abu Dhabi and made an impression on his manager despite the losing scoreline.
Taking to Twitter to relay the Chelsea boss’ admission on the teenager, Romano tweeted: “Graham Potter: ‘Omari Hutchinson is really good. He has been really good, dangerous, asked a question all the time‘.”
“Chelsea are convinced he’s gonna be an important player in the future.”
Top-talents strategy
Having performed as the Blues’ makeshift sporting director over the summer transfer window, co-owner Boehly introduced a philosophy which saw Chelsea fork out some respectable fees for some of Europe’s brightest young talents.
This strategy has so far seen the likes of Carney Chukwuemeka, Gabriel Slonina, Cesare Casadei and of course Hutchinson join the Stamford Bridge ranks.
All of the aforementioned apart from Slonina – who has seen out the end of the MLS season with Chicago Fire – have plied their trade for Chelsea’s reserve side this season, with Chukwuemeka earning himself some valuable minutes with the first-team.
Hutchinson looks set to follow, with Potter waxing lyrical over the 19-year-old following his performance against Villa on Sunday.
Boehly’s top-talents strategy was always about developing and drip-feeding illustrious talent into the Chelsea first-team season upon season. Hutchinson is now just waiting for his chance to shine, having delivered in the Premier League 2 for Chelsea’s under-21 squad with five goals and four assists to his name from 11 appearances.
The 19-year-old has also registered three further goal contributions in the form of one goal and two assists in the Papa John’s Trophy.
With a respectable 12 returns from 15 appearances overall for Chelsea’s development squad, Potter’s admissions only add to the excitement surrounding the former Arsenal youth, who could be in line for a big breakthrough at Stamford Bridge in 2023.
