Nottingham Forest are reportedly closing in on agreeing a £37.5 million fee with the Blues for Omari Hutchinson.

Forest had an offer of £35 million turned down by Town last week but, according to The Athletic, talks regarding a £37.5 million deal for the England U21 international are at an advanced stage.

The fee would be a new record for the Blues, eclipsing the £30 million Chelsea paid for Liam Delap earlier in the summer.

Personal terms are said not to be an issue, while Hutchinson’s former side Chelsea are reported elsewhere to be due 25 per cent of the profit the Blues would make on the £20 million-plus-add-ons fee they paid for the Redhill-born attacker last summer.

However, despite an accord between the clubs being close, both Hutchinson and Forest are reported to still have other options.

Brentford previously had a number of bids turned down, the highest also £35 million, while Everton and Serie A Inter have also been linked.

Hutchinson has appeared certain to leave the Blues this summer having stayed behind when Town travelled to Auxerre for the final pre-season friendly with manager Kieran McKenna revealing on Tuesday that the 21-year-old “didn’t feel that he could contribute” at Bromley, having missed the season opener at Birmingham on Friday due to a throat infection.

Hutchinson is said to be a replacement for Anthony Elanga, who recently joined Newcastle for £55 million, at Forest.

Photo: IMAGO/Beautiful Sports via Reuters Connect

dyersdream added 19:57 - Aug 14 Goodbye Mr sulker how is your sore throat now ??
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cressi added 20:00 - Aug 14 Just get it done and get players in who want to be here. Then hope we play them in the cup down here.
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OliveR16 added 20:02 - Aug 14 A McCarthyesque departure.
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Dug added 20:02 - Aug 14 Be good to get this deal done..is that a record sale for Ipswich?
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Gforce added 20:04 - Aug 14 How can Southampton hold out for 50 million for Dibbling and yet we decide to sell a better player for 37 million? Perhaps we just want him out the door asap,to give us time to find a suitable replacement.
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HatStand added 20:07 - Aug 14 Hopefully wherever he goes, gets relegated
11

Northstandveteran added 20:07 - Aug 14 I did feel he was out of his depth last season, wish him luck, take the money and reinvest in our squad. 2 dodgy games but it will come together.
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apnorman23 added 20:09 - Aug 14 I'm available to drive him there. I'm a West Ham/Ipswich Fan, this kid stinks like Kudus. Get rid of bad apples. Seriously though, ITFC need to look at West Ham Under 21's and Orford and Kante. Strong Winger and absolute beast in centre midfield. Need games and are super players
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 20:09 - Aug 14 Classic bargaining compromise: You say a, we say c, we agree on b. Good to get this deal done and out of the way. Now let's concentrate on our own players.
6

Bluewhiteboy added 20:11 - Aug 14 Suitable time for replacement? Season already under way abd transfer window shuts in a couple of weeks. Could have agreed the 35 million last month and had a player settled in already. Is the extra 2.5 million which will be less than 2m once Chelsea take their share worth holding out on?
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 20:11 - Aug 14 PS: He'll have to up his game a bit to replace Elanga.
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timkatieadamitfc added 20:13 - Aug 14 @Gforce, Hutchinson isn’t a better player though is he? Based on what we saw last season( AND THIS IS NOT SOUR GRAPES) Dibbling had a far better season than Hutchinson.
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muccletonjoe added 20:14 - Aug 14 Would have been given a big send off....deserves exactly what he is now getting
4

brazilblue added 20:16 - Aug 14 Ran out of illnesses it seems. What a sour end to what was a lovely story with Hutch. Hard not to feel aggrieved by this, purely based on his petulance.
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barrystedmunds added 20:17 - Aug 14 The lad certainly hasn’t covered himself in glory over this one has he? Sulking the way he has demonstrates a childish side to his character which frankly leaves a bad taste in the mouth and diminishes any respect I’ve had for him over the last couple of seasons. 37.5 million (and maybe more) would be a great deal in anyone’s book but whether he has it to make it in the Premiership, only time will tell!

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silkcutblue added 20:18 - Aug 14 Maybe when he grows up a bit he will realise what a tw*t he's been. Don't believe the hype!
3

virginblue added 20:20 - Aug 14 Lots of judges here as usual. Smodics did something very similar to force a move for town, albeit did end up playing some minutes for them before signing for us. Easy to judge, but if he’d played Tuesday and picked up an injury it wouldn’t have helped us or him.
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ThaiBlue added 20:21 - Aug 14 Must be related to isak,get rid and let's get players who want to play for Town,players are not bigger than any club.
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BangaloreBlues added 20:23 - Aug 14 I'm going to miss his goal celebration
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darkhorse28 added 20:25 - Aug 14 Good luck to him. Cracking talent, and a pleasure to watch, he has a higher ceiling than anyone in a very long time. We let Forest win to stay in the championship not long ago, what they’ve done off the pitch, bringing in some of the worlds best talent to build on the pitch is a credit to them, they deserve all their success. A good fee, that’s £80 million and counting, from a position of not needing to sell. A huge amount of quality has left the building.., it’s a big couple of weeks in the market, we 100% need more than loans that won’t be here if we aren’t promoted. That would be the catalyst for long term failure. Hopefully a win on Sunday and couple of permanent transfers to lift the mood. Ashton has questions to answer, that probably won’t be asked.

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Lightningboy added 20:25 - Aug 14 Get Jeremy Sarmiento back on a permanent.
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flykickingbybgunn added 20:27 - Aug 14 A shame. But if he does not want to be here then it is better that he goes. Had acted like an adult up to this point. The last month or so has revealed the child.
3

dirtydingusmagee added 20:28 - Aug 14 hero to zero , take the money and send him on his way ,
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dirtydingusmagee added 20:29 - Aug 14 tell him not to forget his Thomas Tank Engine lunch box .
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bluesissy added 20:31 - Aug 14 Get him out ASAP....I've got a sore throat shouting obscenities about him....its affecting the team now and km won't deal with it.
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