Omari Hutchinson

Jamaican footballer (born 2003)

Omari Hutchinson
Hutchinson playing for Ipswich Town in December 2023
Personal information
Full name Omari Elijah Giraud-Hutchinson[1]
Date of birth (2003-10-30) 30 October 2003 (age 20)
Place of birth Redhill, England[2]
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[3]
Position(s) Winger, attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Ipswich Town
(on loan from Chelsea)
Number 20
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– → Ipswich Town (loan) 38 (7)
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 00:46, 6 April 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:04, 14 March 2023 (UTC)

Omari Elijah Giraud-Hutchinson (born 30 October 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for EFL Championship club Ipswich Town, on loan from Premier League club Chelsea. Born in England, he plays for the Jamaica national team.

Early life

Hutchinson was born in Redhill, Surrey, England[4] and crew up in North London along his older brother O'Shaye a former Sheffield United F.C. and Charlton Athletic F.C. youth[5] and Non-League player for Burgess Hill Town F.C., East Grinstead Town F.C. and Ramsgate F.C. player.[6]

Club career

Early career

Hutchinson began his career with Chelsea,[7] joining in 2008.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] While at Charlton, he caught the eye of North-London rivals Arsenal, having impressed in a game against them.[11]

After two years with Charlton, Hutchinson left the club. 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.[10] Hutchinson also stated that he spent time with Crystal Palace prior to joining Arsenal.[9]

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.[10]

In November 2020, Hutchinson signed his first professional contract with Arsenal.[12] 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.[13]

Return to Chelsea

On 16 July 2022, Hutchinson rejoined Chelsea for an undisclosed fee.[14] 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.[15]

Loan to Ipswich Town

On 20 July 2023, Hutchinson agreed to join newly-promoted Championship side Ipswich Town on a season-long loan.[16] 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.[17]

International career

Born in England, Hutchinson is of Jamaican descent. He is a youth international for England, having represented the England U17s and U19s.[18][19]

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.[20][21] 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.[8]

He made his first official start for Jamaica in a 1–0 loss to Trinidad and Tobago on 11 March 2023.[22]

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.[23][24]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 1 April 2024[25]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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[26] — — — — 4[a] 2 4 2
Chelsea U21 2022–23[27] — — — — 4[a] 1 4 1
Chelsea 2022–23[27] Premier League 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 0
2023–24[28] 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[28] Championship 38 7 2 0 4 1 — — 44 8
Career total 39 7 3 0 4 1 0 0 8 3 54 11
  1. ^ a b Appearances in EFL Trophy

International

As of match played 14 March 2023[29]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Jamaica 2023 2 0
Total 2 0

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Premier League clubs publish 2020/21 retained lists". premierleague.com. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  2. ^ Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
  3. ^ "Omari Hutchinson". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Who is Omari Hutchinson? Former Arsenal wonderkid with big Chelsea future under Graham Potter". football.london.
  5. ^ "Arsenal come under fire from ex-Gunners youngster Omari Hutchinson's brother". football.london.
  6. ^ "A forward and a full back sign on". isthmian.
  7. ^ 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)
  8. ^ a b Johnson, Simon (7 November 2022). "Chelsea tell Omari Hutchinson not to report for Jamaica duty". theathletic.com. Retrieved 8 January 2023. (subscription required)
  9. ^ a b "Omari Hutchinson - Over the Road". chelseafc.com. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Watts, Charles (9 September 2021). "Omari Hutchinson: Arsenal's teenage internet sensation who wowed Pele". goal.com. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Young Guns: Omari Hutchinson". arsenal.com. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Omari Hutchinson signs first pro contract". arsenal.com. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  13. ^ 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)
  14. ^ "Young forward Hutchinson joins Chelsea". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Chelsea 0-1 Manchester City". BBC Sport. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Hutchinson joins Ipswich on loan". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Sky Bet Championship: Manager & Player of the Month February winners". www.efl.com. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ Smith, Frank (10 November 2021). "England MU19s 4–0 Andorra". The Football Association. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Arsenal's Omari Hutchinson named in Jamaica squad for first time". Loop News. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Reggae Boyz thrashed by Catalonia". Radio Jamaica News. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  22. ^ Reid, Paul (11 March 2023). "T&T edge Reggae Boyz 1–0 in friendly international". jamaicaobserver.com. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  23. ^ "Full 'All Or Nothing' trailer released". Arsenal F.C. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  24. ^ All or Nothing: Arsenal | Official Full Trailer 🎬. Amazon Prime Video Sport. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022 – via YouTube.
  25. ^ "Omari Hutchinson". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  26. ^ "Games played by Omari Hutchinson in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  27. ^ a b "Games played by Omari Hutchinson in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  28. ^ a b "Games played by Omari Hutchinson in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  29. ^ "Omari Hutchinson". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
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