Chelsea forced to pay Arsenal nearly £4million after selling wonderkid Omari Hutchinson, 20, to Ipswich
ARSENAL have pocketed a tidy near £4million windfall after Chelsea sold Omari Hutchinson to Ipswich Town.
We revealed last week that the Tractor Boys were locked in talks with the Blues over a club-record transfer swoop for the 20-year-old attacker.
Ipswich finally confirmed that they had signed Hutchinson in a deal that could rise to £22.5m last night.
The star has signed a five-year contract after Town agreed to pay an initial £20m to Chelsea with a potential £2.5m extra depending on performance-related add-ons.
However, it is not only the Stamford Bridge coffers that have been boosted by Hutchinson’s sale.
Journalist Nizaar Kinsella has claimed that Arsenal have also pocketed almost £4m from it.
He posted on X: “Arsenal had a 15% sell-on clause after selling Omari Hutchinson to Chelsea so will earn around £3million from the deal.
“Chelsea have 25% sell-on and matching rights in the deal to Ipswich.”
Jamaican international Hutchinson was snapped up by Kieran McKenna last summer on a season long loan.
He went on to be one of Ipswich’s star men as they claimed a second-successive promotion to reach the Premier League.
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Hutchinson scored 11 goals in his 50 appearances in all competitions, with ten of them and five assists coming in the Championship.
Now McKenna, who rejected a number of clubs to pen a new mega-money long-term contract last month, has landed his main target.
He said: “We’re so pleased to bring Omari back on a permanent basis.
“We think Omari is a fantastic player and person to have at the club for the long-term future.
“He has a hunger to improve and show that he can compete and thrive in the Premier League.”
The initial £20m is quadruple the £4.75m they paid Sampdoria for previous club record signing Matteo Sereni back in 2001.
Hutchinson was previously at Chelsea as a kid before a stint at Charlton Athletic led to Arsenal snapping him up.
He progressed through their academy ranks and was named on the bench for an FA Cup game against Nottingham Forest in January 2022.
Hutchinson returned to Chelsea two years ago and had a baptism of fire – making his Premier League debut against Manchester City as a 68th-minute sub in January 2023 at Stamford Bridge.
But last season was his first proper senior football experience with Ipswich.
And he capped it off by helping them to secure the second automatic promotion spot to seal a return to the top-flight for the first time in 22 years.
Meanwhile, Ipswich have also added another addition to their squad after signing Ben Johnson on a free transfer from West Ham.
The 24-year-old defender made 109 senior appearances for the Hammers.
McKenna said: “He is a young and talented defender with good technical quality as well as excellent physical attributes.”
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