Chelsea set to sign 18-year-old Arsenal wonderkid
Cameron Smith
- 15 Jul 2022 10:38 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea are reportedly set to sign Arsenal wonderkid Omari Hutchinson this summer, with the 18-year-old set to join the Blues' U23 side.
Hutchinson has been with Arsenal since the age of 12 and signed his first professional contract with the club in November 2020, but will leave the club to join Chelsea this summer, as reported by The Secret Scout.
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The attacking midfielder is still yet to make his senior debut for Arsenal, but appeared on the first-team bench for the first time during the Gunners' 1-0 FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest earlier this year. This news suggests he won't be given the chance to make his senior Arsenal debut, with Hutchinson opting to move across London to join Chelsea.
Hutchinson, who is of Jamaican descent, has represented England's U17 and U19 age groups, but was called up to the Jamaican senior side in May 2022, and made his debut for the country later that month in a friendly defeat to Catalonia.
However, as it was not a full-international fixture, he hasn't fully committed to representing Jamaica on the senior stage yet.
Hutchinson scored eight goals and assisted a further seven in just 22 games in all competitions last season. Two of those goals came against Chelsea, with the first a sublime curling effort in the EFL Trophy, and the second a brilliant solo strike in which he bamboozled the Blues defence before slotting home at the near post in the Premier League 2.
Plenty of academy activity
According to Freddie Paxton, further departures from Arsenal's U23 side are expected this summer. Football.London had previously reported that Hutchinson was set to head out on loan during the 2022-23 season, with Reading interested, but he's now set to leave permanently to join Chelsea.
Omari Hutchinson goal v Chelsea last season. 💥pic.twitter.com/Io5bStAGr6
— TheSecretScout (@TheSecretScout_) July 15, 2022
Chelsea themselves have been busy in the academy market, with the Blues keen to avoid a similar scenario to last season, where they only avoided relegation from the top flight of English U23 football on the final day of the season.
They ran out 2-1 winners over Tottenham that day, but played senior pros Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr, while Mason Burstow, who had returned from his loan spell at Charlton, also featured.
In terms of academy arrivals, goalkeeper Eddie Beach has joined from Southampton and is set to be accompanied in the move by fellow Saints star Tyler Dibling, who scored five goals and grabbed four assists last season.
