Town are reported to have stepped up their interest in signing former loanee Omari Hutchinson on a permanent basis from Chelsea.

The 20-year-old was a key man during the Blues’ Championship promotion campaign, carrying off the club’s Young Player of the Year award.

Now, according to The Guardian, Town have “accelerated” their interest in bringing Hutchinson back to Portman Road via a deal which could eventually total £20 million, although much of that is likely to be the result of milestone clauses and other top-ups.

The Blues are expected to face opposition for Hutchinson’s signature from Bundesliga Stuttgart, who are in next season’s Champions League, while a number of other top European clubs were impressed by the Jamaica international’s form while at Portman Road.

Whether Chelsea will be willing to sell remains to be seen with incoming manager Enzo Maresca set to assess the Stamford Bridge squad.

Earlier this week, the West Londoners took up an option to extend Hutchinson’s contract until the summer of 2026, while he has been named in the Jamaica squad for their CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers next month.

Another former Town loanee, Jeremy Sarmiento, who was spotted playing football at Goals in Ipswich on Monday evening, has been named in the Ecuador squad for their CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers.

Photo: Matchday Images

BlueCanadian added 19:45 - May 30 Ecuador is not part of CONCACAF, they will be involved in WC qualifying under CONMEBOL (South American confederation), and their next games in that are not until September. Interestingly, Jamaica and Ecuador are both involved in Copa America in June and are in the same group, so we may see Hutchinson lining up against Sarmiento when the two countries play each other on June 26th.

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KiwiTractor added 22:38 - May 30 Do we know which players have been retained/released from the squad yet?
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Gforce added 23:30 - May 30 KiwiTractor.......No announcements as yet ! I would imagine it will be quite soon,especially as Keirans situation is now sorted.
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hyperbrit added 01:20 - May 31 the importance of bringing him in can hardly be overstated,As a replacement for Burns who is injury prone and subject to Wales call ups,but beyond that he terrifies defenses whenever he plays.
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KiwiBlue2 added 01:58 - May 31 Kieran certainly wants him and given that we know what he can do and his age it would not worry me if we push the boat out a bit in terms of the transfer fee. Beyond that I agree with an earlier poster that we need to address the defense as the top priority after Omari. Two proven Prem quality cb's and left and right full backs plus a midfielder to back up/compete with Sam and Luongo plus one big striker like Moore or McBurnie. Fascinating time ahead....

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thundercat added 08:33 - May 31 Here we go again the armchair managers telling the club how it should be run and the positions that need filling, we have leapt from league one to the championship then onto the premier League with the same bunch of players and now the armchair managers are telling us that some of these players are not good enough.
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Paddy39 added 08:52 - May 31 Thundcat I agree about armchair managers, but the pace in the Prem is a lot faster than the Championship. Remember right back Harry Clarke was carrying an injury for most of the season. IT’s centre backs we need. I would still keep Burgess he has improved immensely during last season. As the CEO says believe nothing unless you hear from ITFC.
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Gazelle added 09:09 - May 31 Let’s stop naming players who might come or go, McK is in charge and he knows better than any of us.
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Bazza8564 added 09:35 - May 31 I would love to see Omari sign here, we can only have two loans from english clubs and Jez has a clause giving us the option so signing him would free up one more. I think the more interesting bit will come in the early part of next week though when the retained and released list comes out. I suspect there will be a number on that and that alone will give us a really clear understanding of how many are required to come in. Im guessing but i reckon 6-7 of each.....

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planetblue_2011 added 13:04 - May 31 Get him in excellent player! Bring Sarmiento back as well
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 13:14 - May 31 Omari? Yes please! Also think Sarmiento has lots of potential to develop under K McK, and I'd be glad to see him back, probably on loan.
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blues1 added 13:42 - May 31 Clemcc. Apart from what others have said to you, do you really think maresca will be worried about losing omari when he has thd likes of mudryk, sterling, maduake, palmer to play for him.
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hyperbrit added 13:42 - May 31 no mention of Moore in any of these discussions,but he died on the vine for me when he let the ball go out for corner instead of banging it back into the box like any real striker(like Al Hamadi) would
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supasmiler71 added 13:45 - May 31 Agree with many on here. Omari = a no-brainer, but I would love Sarmiento back again too. I think her brought so much energy and top level skill to each game he was involved in.
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