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

Michael101 added 17:21 - Aug 13 Going byhaw he played in most games last season he never felt able to contribute then.
0

jonju11 added 17:33 - Aug 13 The answer/solution is quite simple. He is in breach of contract.....fine him 2 weeks wages ..& if he persists in refusing to play then dock him a weeks wages for every missed game. He will soon realise that he is a very fortunate young man playing football for a career & there will be only one winner in this contest. THE CLUB. As an addendum, Mr Ashton should invite his agent in & advise him of the penalties that Omari will be suffering over coming weeks. (let alone not being paid his fees with OH on reduced circumstanes.

3

bricor2011 added 17:40 - Aug 13 I don't see a queue of big clubs wanting to sign Hutchinson.
5

dirtydingusmagee added 18:01 - Aug 13 Sulky kid not much of a enhancement when looking for a new club grow up and good riddance,shoot yoursel in yh3 foot and warm the Prem. Bye
3

planetblue_2011 added 18:02 - Aug 13 Get rid of him & get the 40m be able to get 4/5 decent players with that money. Football just isn’t the same anymore too much money & not even bothered about the club & fans. Not good enough
2

Reuser2000 added 18:06 - Aug 13 My nans next door neighbor sponsors Omari, might give her a message and tell her neighbor too pass on the message that he's a wet flannel.... Fine the sulky boy and don't pay him. He's employed by the club
2

IpswichT62OldBoy added 18:10 - Aug 13 Hard to imagine we would get a tune out of him now. Perhaps he is a very sensitive adolescent, "its no good, I can't perform in these conditions Im just not feeling it, I will be in my dressing room meditating until those nasty rude men go away."
1

Linkboy13 added 18:19 - Aug 13 A lot of what i call grandma remarks on this channel. What's the point in playing him if he wants to play in the Premier league he gets injured bang goes the move and 40 million pounds also. If interest in him dwindled he could then concentrate on playing for Ipswich which im sure he would and all of a sudden the fans will be back on his side that's the way fans are at most clubs.

1

IpswichT62OldBoy added 18:28 - Aug 13 I have had a bit of a think and the "don't risk a valuable asset in a bullocks game" theory has a lot going for it. I retract my sulky boy comment.
0

billlm added 18:33 - Aug 13 Keighleyblue, make me laugh hew way off that was pants in a pants team last year,
0

Linkboy13 added 18:35 - Aug 13 This mystery illness going around the club seems to only effect players on the verge of a move. If one remembers from last season Broadhead was on the verge of a move to Sunderland but it fell through which he wasn't too pleased about and looked disinterested for the first half of the season.
2

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 18:57 - Aug 13 Sorry blueoutlook: Didn't mean to mark you down. Should be some way to correct this, by the way.
2

OliveR16 added 19:02 - Aug 13 "he trained on Monday OK and then didn’t feel that he could contribute today with the situation as it is” Until this point I was OK with Hutchinson. Every time I've changed jobs I've worked professionally to my last day - for peanuts compared to this waste-of -space. Get rid, and let him rot expensively in someone's U21 squad.
2

blueboy1981 added 19:07 - Aug 13 Hutchinson is not doing himself any favours at the moment, but neither is the Club right now. Beware of a downward spiral potential situation - 180 minutes plus of game time Football thus far has been far from impressive. Lets see a massive improvement from somewhere or someone this weekend - it’s much needed !
0

dirtydingusmagee added 19:17 - Aug 13 Agree Steve, should be a way to amend or delete posts and marks We all make mistakes and have fat fingers at times .
1

IpswichT62OldBoy added 19:47 - Aug 13 Phil H. A very sensible suggestion has arisen. Would it be possible to have a buffer or ability to retract a vote within a reasonable time, 30sec or a minute, to allow for poor eyesight, fat fingers or mental tics?
1

dirtydingusmagee added 19:54 - Aug 13 100% Ipswicholdboy
0

Cloddyseedbed added 20:08 - Aug 13 Oh dear, seems club discipline and respect are in question here. No doubt contributing to Enfield performances. If both players are playing up and questioning how the club is behaving they need to give their heads a wobble. They were happy to sign contracts and are part of the club's assets. Their values have risen since arriving at the club due to the club investing in them. This needs sorting. If refusal to play for one made up reason or anther then their wages should stop until a resolution is found. Players have far too much power. Maybe the FA should look into this. Some players these days just behave like louts. Not doing the club or the players any favours but ultimately it is the club that will suffer the most.

1

jbmariner94 added 20:08 - Aug 13 If he doesn’t feel he can contribute we need to get rid of have him playing in the reserves until the end of the window and he realises we hold all the cards.
2

jbmariner94 added 20:13 - Aug 13 *or have him playing in the reserves until the window shuts
1

Edmundo added 20:19 - Aug 13 For the first time I think KM has got this totally wrong. What kind of message does this send to the whole club in terms of how to behave? Get gone, Omari. You've let yourself down as well as this Club
2

Zondervantheman added 21:38 - Aug 13 Surely his agent will see sense and tell him to pull his boots on. We won’t let him go for less than 40m and if no one pays it before the deadline he will be doing himself no favours to get a January move. If he has bagged 10-15 goals in the champ and playing well someone will come in and pay the money and he goes off without a bitter taste in the mouth. Broadhead is playing and keeping himself fit for what ever his fate is.

2

shakytown added 06:20 - Aug 14 What a pack of morons. We are one game into a 46 game season and drew with the third favs away. You would expect the sort of comment about the team and manager from retarded budgies like the Blue idiot but the rest of you are just pathetic. Get behind the team and show some patience and a few brain cells. lots of changes and it will take a few games for the team to settle ffs.

2

mathiemagic added 08:13 - Aug 14 Just let him go, he can't now expect to walk back into our 1st team if no move emerges after refusing to play.
0

Blogs 298 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls