Omari Hutchinson | |
Full Name: | Omari Elijah Giraud-Hutchinson[1] |
Birth Date: | 30 October 2003 |
Birth Place: | Redhill, England[2] |
Height: | 1.74 m[3] |
Currentclub: | Ipswich Town |
Clubnumber: | 20 |
Position: | Winger, attacking midfielder |
Youthyears1: | 2008–2012 |
Youthclubs1: | Chelsea |
Youthyears2: | 2012–2014 |
Youthclubs2: | Charlton Athletic |
Youthyears3: | 2015–2022 |
Youthclubs3: | Arsenal |
Youthyears4: | 2022–2023 |
Youthclubs4: | Chelsea |
Years1: | 2023–2024 |
Clubs1: | Chelsea |
Caps1: | 1 |
Goals1: | 0 |
Years2: | 2023–2024 |
Clubs2: | → Ipswich Town (loan) |
Caps2: | 44 |
Goals2: | 10 |
Years3: | 2024– |
Clubs3: | Ipswich Town |
Caps3: | 1 |
Goals3: | 0 |
Nationalyears1: | 2020 |
Nationalteam1: | England U17 |
Nationalcaps1: | 3 |
Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
Nationalyears2: | 2021 |
Nationalteam2: | England U19 |
Nationalcaps2: | 1 |
Nationalgoals2: | 0 |
Nationalyears3: | 2023– |
Nationalteam3: | Jamaica |
Nationalcaps3: | 2 |
Nationalgoals3: | 0 |
Club-Update: | 22:58, 19 August 2024 (UTC) |
Ntupdate: | 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 Premier League club Ipswich Town. Born in England, he plays for the Jamaica national team.
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]
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]
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]
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.
After helping the club gain promotion to the Premier League after 22 years away, Hutchinson rejoined Ipswich Town on 30 June 2024 and signed a five-year contract for a club-record fee.[16]
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]
Hutchinson was involved in the Amazon Original sports docuseries , 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]
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 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||||||
Chelsea U21 | 2022–23 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | ||||||
Chelsea | 2022–23 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
2023–24 | 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 | Championship | 44 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 50 | 11 | |||
Career total | 45 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 60 | 14 |
Ipswich Town
Individual
February 2024[26]