Town boss Kieran McKenna say he’ll wish Omari Hutchinson well for the rest of his career if his £37.5 million move to Nottingham Forest goes through but admits he’s been disappointed at the manner in which the England U21 international’s time at Portman Road has come to end.
Hutchinson is at the City Ground today to undergo a medical and complete his switch to the Tricky Trees.
It’s perhaps little surprise Forest is Hutchinson’s destination given the long-established relationship between their global head of football, Edu, and the player’s agent Kia Joorabchian.
"I think things are progressing along,” McKenna said when asked about the situation. "Nothing confirmed yet and deals are never done until they’re done but it certainly looks to be heading in that direction.”
Hutchinson has been training with the Blues but made himself unavailable for the friendly at Auxerre and Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie at Bromley having been ill for the Championship opener at Birmingham a week ago.
Asked whether the 21-year-old had let him and his teammates down, McKenna said: "The situations are always more nuanced than what is apparent on the outside. I’ve spoken about it a few times, as a manager you have to speak carefully sometimes because you’re trying to protect the interests of the club.
"Omari’s a player who has had a fantastic experience here. The club’s been fantastic for him, he’s been fantastic for the club.
"His desire was to move on to the Premier League again this season if that opportunity arose. We felt like there was a really good football project for him here, but I fully understand the player’s position on that and the counter-argument.
"I think the situation could have been handled differently. As I’ve said before, Omari is a young player and I think a lot of that is advice that young players can get from outside in terms of how they should behave or conduct themselves in certain situations.
"I think it could have been handled differently and I think it was a shame that it wasn’t because he’s a player who has had a really special connection here with his teammates, with the staff, with the supporters. But in the end it wasn’t.
"So, he’s on the verge of making that transfer. It’s a fantastic transfer fee for the club. In terms of the model here over the last few years in terms of bringing players in, developing them and improving players, I think him and Liam [Delap], probably across market value taking any contract clauses out, you’re probably talking about maybe £100 million in two players that were developed here last year.
"I think that’s a big positive for the club. It’s a shame the way the last bit of the situation has played out. There’s other stuff that people won’t be aware of that stays in-house.
"Omari’s been here and he’s trained, he didn’t fake illness at any time, I can say that clearly. He had a throat infection that made him unavailable for the Birmingham game that was 100 per cent genuine.
"My belief is that when you’re under contract you should be available for every game and I think there was a pre-season friendly and the cup game that he didn’t make himself available.
"In my opinion is that you should make yourself available for every game for the time that you’re under contract at the club.
"That wasn’t the case but that seems to be more prevalent in modern football and I think players get advised to go down that path, which in this situation I don’t think was necessary because it’s a player with a special connection with the club, a club with a lot of integrity, who if the right situation was there for the club and for the player would want to act in the right way anyway.
"If the deal goes through, which is still an if, I certainly will want him to go on and do well there and I know people will be disappointed by the exit but he’s been part of a really special time for the club, a really special team for the club. He’s developed a lot here and I hope he’ll go on to do good things.
"We’re all a little bit disappointed by how the last bit’s been played out but he’s a player that I think I’ve had a really good time with and will keep in contact with. If he moves on from here, we’ll wish him well in his career.”