New club record signing Omari Hutchinson says he always saw himself coming back to Town following his hugely impressive loan spell last season.
The 20-year-old signed for Town from Chelsea yesterday for an initial fee understood to be £18 million with further top-ups taking it to £22 million. The Jamaica international has signed a five-year deal.
"I’m happy to be back and get started,” he told Town TV. "It feels surreal, really. It’s gone kind of quick. Last year I was signing on loan and here we are today signing on a permanent.
"I’m very excited, I had a good connection with the fans and especially a good connection with the manager, so it wasn’t a hard decision to come here on a permanent and I’m looking forward to it.”
He says the fans and boss Kieran McKenna played a role in him returning: "That played a massive part. When you’re a player, you want that confidence, but with the fans, they give you that extra boost.
"And especially the manager, he trusted me and had full belief in me, so it was a no-brainer to come here.”
Regarding McKenna, he added: "From the go at the start of last season, he told what I need to bring to the team and what I need to work on and he helped me through the whole season last season.
"He was very hard on me, always pushing me during training sessions and stuff like that, trying to get the best out of me. That’s what I need as a player, I always want to improve, so it was good.”
Asked if it felt different to be back at the club as a permanent signing, he reflected: "Not really. I kind of saw myself coming back here. When you sleeping, you have those dreams, especially the last game. It was a pleasure playing here last season and I can’t wait to get started.”
He says his family also forged a connection with the club last season: "When they set foot in the stadium, they felt a good energy about it. When they saw the people as well, the people were really friendly, so it was an easy decision, really, and that was why we came back.”
Looking ahead to his future with the club, he added: "I’ve got huge ambitions for the club, I want to stay in the Premier League with them, play against the biggest teams in the world, which I’m really looking forward to and just doing amazing things with this club.”