Ipswich Town have been joined by Stuttgart in the race for Omari Hutchinson, which could now mean their chances have been dampened.
Ipswich Town will soon start getting their summer transfer business underway as the club prepares for Premier League football.
Since their promotion to the top flight was confirmed, there has been a lot of distraction, as manager Kieran McKenna has been linked with a move away.
Manchester United, Brighton, and Chelsea have been interested in the Northern Irishman, but according to John Percy of the Telegraph, McKenna is set to stay at Ipswich and sign a new contract with the club.
Now that his future looks to be resolved, the club can turn their attention to what they want to do this summer, and one of their targets will likely be winger Omari Hutchinson.
The 20-year-old was on loan from Chelsea for the season, and he performed ever so well. So, Ipswich have been keen on looking into another loan deal or a permanent switch, but they now face a potential huge stumbling block as Stuttgart joins the race.
Stuttgart joins Ipswich Town in the race for Omari Hutchinson
As mentioned, Omari Hutchinson spent the entire 2023/24 season on loan at Ipswich Town, during which time he scored 10 goals and recorded five assists in 44 league appearances.
The 20-year-old was a very impressive addition at Portman Road, so given they are now a Premier League team, the club has been potentially looking into another deal for the winger.
However, their chances of securing another deal have suffered a blow, as Bundesliga side Stuttgart have joined the race for Hutchinson, as reported by the Daily Mirror.
This report adds that the German side, who have qualified for next season’s Champions League, invited the winger over to watch the club in person earlier this month as they tried to get ahead of the chasing pack.
The report goes on to add that Stuttgart are leading the race for Hutchinson, and Ipswich also face competition from Dutch giants Ajax and Feyenoord, as well as fellow German side Borussia Monchengladbach.
But all of these teams could have suffered a blow in their attempts to sign Hutchinson, as Chelsea have exercised the option in the player’s contract to extend it until 2026.
This gives them leverage on Hutchinson’s future, and it means Enzo Maresca, who looks likely to be the club’s new manager, can assess the situation when he joins the club.
Stuttgart joining the Omari Hutchinson race may scupper Ipswich’s chances
Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich are likely going to be linked with a lot of players this summer, given they are going up to the Premier League and they are a side that isn’t short in terms of finances.
However, probably out of all the players they will be linked with, it is likely that Omari Hutchinson is the one player that McKenna will be keen on signing this summer.
| Omari Hutchinson’s 2023/24 Championship stats for Ipswich Town | |
| Matches played | 44 |
| Minutes per game | 50 |
| Goals | 10 |
| xG | 5.22 |
| Shots per game | 1.5 |
| Big chances missed | 4 |
| Assists | 5 |
| Big chances created | 7 |
| Key passes | 0.9 |
| Stats as per Sofascore.com | |
This is because the 20-year-old was so impressive for the Tractor Boys in the 2023/24 season; as mentioned, he scored 10 goals and chipped in with five appearances, as he missed just two league games all season.
Despite playing such a key role, it may surprise people to see that Hutchinson only started 20 of the 44 league games he appeared in, averaging 50 minutes on the pitch per game.
But the winger very impressively outperformed his xG, which stood at 5.22, and he was averaging a goal every 218 minutes of football.
His threat going forward is key to see, as he averaged 1.2 shots per game, with 0.7 being on target. He also created seven big chances for his teammates, collecting 0.9 key passes, which helped contribute to his five assists, as per Sofascore.com.
Hutchinson was a key player in Ipswich’s promotion campaign, and despite him not starting every game, he was important for McKenna, so it is no surprise that the Northern Irishman would like to have him back in his squad.
However, Stuttgart joining the race for Hutchinson is a big blow to the Tractor Boys, as you would have to presume that it decreases their chances of signing the player.
This is because Stuttgart have secured Champions League football for next season, and given how well they performed this season, finishing second ahead of Bayern Munich, that is likely going to be an appealing destination for Hutchinson ahead of Ipswich.
The Chelsea man will want to test himself against the biggest and the best, and while joining Ipswich would give him Premier League football, Stuttgart can offer him Champions League football, something that may be very hard to refuse.
So, while Ipswich and McKenna will still have hopes that Hutchinson will choose them, given their previous relationship, they may have to be prepared to be let down, as Stuttgart could be too hard to refuse for the winger this summer.
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