Nizaar Kinsella of the BBC is this morning reporting on what could be Chelsea’s first major sale of this summer’s transfer window.
He says that talks over Omari Hutchinson’s move to Ipswich, the team where he was on loan last season, are “positive” and “advancing.”
The crucial detail he adds is that a move is “expected to be a club record deal if it goes through.”
In fact it wouldn’t just break the record, it would shatter it. Their current record is around £5m, showing just how much money has been pumped into the game at the top level since the Tractor Boys were last a top flight team.
The most recent reports claimed that the deal is likely to come in at around £22m, although the structure still isn’t clear. Previous interest from the Bundesliga seems to have faded, with Kinsella adding that Ipswich are “favourites ahead of Stuttgart”.
🆕 Omari Hutchinson is expected to be a club record deal if it goes through. Talks positive and advancing with Chelsea. https://t.co/dC8sXauxzS
— Nizaar Kinsella (@NizaarKinsella) June 28, 2024
Chelsea greasing the wheels of their summer
Kinsella and other reporters have made it clear that there will be no buy back clause in the deal – but that’s to be expected given Ipswich are breaking the bank for him.
It’s a real sign of their belief in his ability that they’re wiling to commit an amount which presumably makes up the bulk of their summer budget just to bring him in.
It’s a shame that Omari never got a real chance in a Chelsea shirt, but we can at least enjoy him playing in the Premier League – who knows, maybe he’ll do us some favours next season and take points off some of our rivals?
We wish him all the best, and we’re absolutely fascinated to see what he and his team can do next season after two consecutive promotions. It will without doubt be one of the more interesting plotlines in the new campaign.
