Town boss Kieran McKenna says forward Omari Hutchinson felt that he “couldn’t contribute” for the Blues in their Carabao Cup tie at Bromley with the 21-year-old having made his desire to return to the Premier League clear.

Both Brentford and Nottingham Forest have made £35 million offers for the England U21 international which have been rebuffed. The Blues are believed to be targeting £40 million for the ex-Chelsea man.

Hutchinson suffered a throat infection last week which meant he wasn’t involved at Birmingham on Friday, but McKenna confirmed his absence today wasn’t related to the illness, although Nathan Broadhead, who is being targeted by Wrexham, did report in unwell.

“No, he trained on Monday OK and then didn’t feel that he could contribute today with the situation as it is,” McKenna said of Hutchinson.

“That was his decision and Nathan reported sick this morning, which on the day of the game is not ideal.”

Asked whether he is disappointed in Hutchinson, McKenna said: “He’s made [clear] his desire to continue to play Premier League football if the opportunity is there.

“I think it’s known how much care we have for Omari and empathy we have with him, he’s a young player, 21, it’s not an easy situation to handle.

“There are different ways to handle the situation but I think that seems to be more prevalent in modern football and players get advice from different directions and he’s a very, very young player.

“We have empathy with him, we’ll try and guide him in the right way in terms of how to deal with situations, but, of course, as long as he’s at the football club, we want him able to contribute and help the team on the pitch.”

McKenna says the situation hasn’t changed regarding the offers for the one-time Arsenal youngster.

“There hasn’t been anything that has changed the club’s position yet,” he added. “It’s known that Omari had a buyout clause in his contract, which was active for a few months.

“There was no serious or appropriate offers in that time, so once that position’s closed, then it’s the club’s position to make the decision as they see fit.

“There hasn’t been any sort of interest or offers to change that position so far, so we’ll see what the next few weeks bring.”

McKenna says it’s more complicated than just telling Hutchinson he’s staying as he is in contract until the summer of 2029.

“Situations are never as simple as that and, of course, the club has their position, the player has their position, but it’s never as straightforward and especially when you’re dealing with a young player here,” he continued.

“I don’t think there’s too much more to say on it, we have our position as a club. My position I’ve communicated with Omari around the situation and, of course, he’s communicated his and we’ll see what the next few weeks bring.”

Ideally McKenna says he’d love to have Hutchinson at the club for the season ahead: “I think that’s clear and obvious.”

Photo: Matchday Images

RobITFC added 23:26 - Aug 12 Pathetic all round !
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1960H added 23:26 - Aug 12 Dock his wages, he is contracted to play for us as far as I can see he is on breach of contract in any other line of employment it could be a sackable offence, I fed up with hearing all this bs,!
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Denny32 added 23:26 - Aug 12 Worst thing was for him to have met Pele and be told you have an amazing set of skills and talent and will go far .clearly has gone to his head...oh dear
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earlsgreenblue added 23:28 - Aug 12 Got to agree with all the above, this is exactly what is wrong with broken Britain, FFS he’s only 21?what on earth is this all about, cueue all the ooooh you can’t say that mob, jeez get real this is life, I’m so glad I don’t have to live in that place I used to call home, paid a Kings ransom most of us can only dream about, wants to move on, in my day you thought yourself lucky you had a job, let alone playing for an honest club like Ipswich which all the kids I knew would give their kidney for. Just about sums up what a mess you lucky people are in!

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cpaz97 added 23:29 - Aug 12 Absolutely disgraceful attitude when it is this club that gave him a break. I'll doubt he will play for us again because I could see him being booed out of the building. He has turned his back on this club and can reep what he sows now.
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ITFC_Follower added 23:31 - Aug 12 he is basically trying to force the hand of the club to loose 5m against his value as well as not playing and taking a wage...
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TomCruise added 23:31 - Aug 12 McKenna is doing Hutchinson a favour here and being tactful in his management of the situation rather than throwing him under the bus and saying 'he's refused to play', which he has likely been advised to do by his agent. In terms of negotiation, the club need to retain a position of strength and make it seem like unless they get the right offer, Omari will stay and play another season. I also respect McKenna and the club doing the right thing by a young lad they clearly care for. He will go in the end and we will get the 40 million and we will bring in more players and finish with a squad better than 90% of the other teams in the league, its just annoying that we are at the back of the queue when it comes to transfers and this will rumble on. This is football though.

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ldnj added 23:41 - Aug 12 The way I read this is McK wants him to play (and feels he has spent a lot of effort nurturing him) but maybe others are more worried about devaluing an asset (as there is the risk of injury & witness the statement before about transfer revenues) ?
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Gforce added 23:49 - Aug 12 Well if Southampton want 50 million for Dibbling ,we should hold out for the same. Hutchinson is the better player in my opinion.Need to get this done quickly though and reinvest I some quality additions.
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GTRKing added 23:50 - Aug 12 Hutchinson got taste of the primer league & now wants more so is throwing his toys in the pram and wants to leave! He will only go if we accept £40ml+
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Broadbent23 added 23:53 - Aug 12 Omari is not good enough to be a Premiership first eleven player. KMc needs to work on his tactical play. LD is finding life difficult at Chelsea. Whether or not teams are prepared to pay £40m is another question. OK he won the U21 championship but there were better players in the England squad. So please Omari give us another season.
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darkhorse28 added 00:05 - Aug 13 The whole story is deflection. Omari will move on, he’s 21, very talented, and it’s a consequence of relegation. We should get good money at least. But why aren’t we talking about McKenna, Ashton, and the ownership situation, factors that will actually DEFiNE our medium and long term future. We didn’t lose to a fourth division reserve side because Omari didn’t play. There’s very little integrity, or anything authentic in this…, it’s head in the sand levels of deflection. This result won’t define us. Our collective managements skill set across lots of areas, like motivation, player retention, talent ID, tactics, being able to have the trust in the group, so players respond to a manger - they matter.., they will define us. Leeds away. After that, the response was dogged, one of seeing a dream slip away, and refusing to let that happen. We don’t have that in this group, and it’s becoming very obvious that more of that came from within that group than the management team…, Mass, Sam, Cam .., they dragged that team by the scruff of the neck. McKenna is a great coach. But it looks every bit like he isn’t a great motivator, and likely never was. We need more support off the pitch, and a different style of voice, as much as any new player.

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armchaircritic59 added 00:09 - Aug 13 Not going to say much about the OH situation except that it's a clear case of a club happy to protect an asset, and the asset more than happy to oblige! On another topic, KM's statement above includes the comment " we'll see what the next few weeks bring ". Well, not exactly, as I'm typing this its just into Wednesday the 13th, and I make that near enough 18 days and 19 hours before the window slams shut. I wouldn't call that a few weeks. Plenty to happen in that time though, I think.

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Ipswich1977 added 00:10 - Aug 13 Very, very disappointed Omari. You should be utterly ashamed. You're in an extremely privileged position and you feel you can't be bothered. What an utter waste of time you are. Immature. You're absolutely loved at the club. You can go so far with us. But no, at 21 you think the grass is greener on the other side. Complete idiot. You signed a 5 year deal last season. You had regular football. You're time will come natrualy. But you think you can force this move away. You're truly pathetic and now completely annoying.

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Billericay12 added 00:11 - Aug 13 We shouldn’t be dictated to by any player but we don’t half miss his attacking wing play. Ogbene doesn’t look like he has much pace or silky skills to get past even the Bromley full back so not much hope in the Championship games. Would much prefer Burns if Omari goes. Clark does possess some skill but concedes possession too easily with not much end product. I am sure we will improve when Cajuste is back and Akpom competing with Hurst for No 9 slot.

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armchaircritic59 added 00:13 - Aug 13 darkhorse28, interesting post, I definitely don't always agree with your posts, but some of the contents of the one above I don't think are so far off the mark. Let's all just wait and see what happens over the next 18/19 days. Comings and goings I think.
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shakytown added 00:22 - Aug 13 if he won't play put him in the under 21's and tell him to grow up. Other managers will take note of unprofessional behaviour Omari so sort your priorities out or just leave. Collecting wages for refusing to play is disgraceful young man and you will very quickly get a bad name in the backrooms.
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htb added 00:37 - Aug 13 Was pretty crap last year. Should doc his wages and if someone wants to take him let the little prima dona go. .
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flykickingbybgunn added 01:35 - Aug 13 Oh dear Omari. You have let us and yourself down. Pity. You have so much tallent, but have had such bad advice from those who should have your best interests at heart.
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RobITFC added 02:04 - Aug 13 I am sorry but he is contracted on a big salary to “contribute” so what is the problem?
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dyersdream added 03:59 - Aug 13 Get lost omari no player bigger than the club
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PhuketPete added 04:15 - Aug 13 Last night showed that “if” there is a way back for Omari, we need to take it because it’s clear that Ogbene and (especially) Clarke are currently NOWHERE near good enough. And whilst it may not be possible to retain Omari, KM’s considered style is more likely to achieve a positive result than through the confrontational style megaphoned by many above. But if we do lose Omari I doubt there is an overnight ready winger to buy at this stage so we better hope a fit again Jaden can really step up. Wes could however be rubbing his hands as the RW position could be his for the taking when he’s fit again.

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Nottsblue66 added 04:35 - Aug 13 Bluearmy 81 Spot on I think McKenna is lost and has no more to give been found out and the sad thing is he is letting hutch walk all over him On Saturday I’m sorry but away win for me Then McKenna will be under pressure
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BlueandTruesince82 added 05:11 - Aug 13 Tear into him too nice? Nonsense its a different world now. What if he doesnt go before the window closes? How does he react then? Club at least needs to balance the possibility or reintegration if he is still here come sept. "If I didn't contribute at work I'd be sacked" yeah but if you get sacked its not £35 million quid being written off. Players all respond differently, one size fits all b#%%£×*ings dont work anymore, Omari is clearly a delicate flower, I'm sure KMC knows how to handle him best. Its important to that clubs see were not pushovers. Omari should remember that the clubs in question had a window where they could snaffle him. They didn't utilise it, Brentford decided that rather than a priority signing hes someone they should haggle over and see. Forest bid is almost an after thought.

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DannyITFC added 05:15 - Aug 13 And what happens if he is not sold this window? Will he continue to act like a spoilt petulant child and not play football? (After all that is what he’s paid extremely well to do!). I just hope now negotiations are under way in the background and we can get him moved on ASAP. We will need to invest though in a few more players, the squad looks light and disjointed atm, Al Hamadi needs to go what an awful player he is. I think Southampton will turn us over Sunday unless the two new signings play and make an impact. What a dreadful transfer window it’s been, to top it off we will lose Broadhead too who imo is a top player be could do with. If we ain’t careful there more chance us doing a Luton that Burnley.

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