Chelsea manager Graham Potter has been full of praise for U-23 attacker Omari Hutchinson, who left Arsenal in the summer to sign for the west London side.
Speaking to the Sun, the English coach lauded the Jamaica international following Chelsea’s 1-0 loss against Aston Villa in a friendly in Abu Dhabi, with Potter fielding a very young starting XI that featured the likes of Armando Broja. Lewis Hall and the aforementioned Hutchinson.
Potter said on the attacker’s performance: “Hutchinson was really good, he was dangerous and asked a question all the time. Throughout the game, he showed his quality but he wasn’t the only one. It was a spirited performance with a lot of young players so it was good”
The 19-year-old was poached by Chelsea in the summer despite showing signs of making a breakthrough at Arsenal, with Hutchinson regarded by many supporters and critics as one of the best talents coming out of Hale End in this current crop.
However, the forward opted to sign for Chelsea rather than continue his development at Arsenal to the surprise of many, with the Blues not historically known for giving academy players regular minutes and instead noted for their ability to spin talents off for immense profit.
Indeed, the teenager might not have made a senior appearance for Potter’s side, but there is still plenty of time on the attacker’s hands to break into Chelsea’s first-team. Though for many Arsenal fans, the winger’s fate in west London already seems to be on the wall.
Hutchinson might already be regretting Chelsea move
Very few young players would now make the sporting decision to sign for Chelsea with the intention of breaking into the senior team, with the likes of Mason Mount and Reece James arguably the latest names to make it out of the academy since of John Terry. And for Hutchinson, leaving Arsenal could soon be seen as a mistake.
After all, Mikel Arteta is proving to be a manager who isn’t afraid to play academy talents if they’re ready enough to start, and for Hutchinson, staying in north London could have already seen the teenager make his senior debut for the Gunners rather than playing U-23s football for Chelsea.
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