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.”

Photo: Pro Shots/Sipa USA

cazwells1 added 15:29 - Aug 15 Wonder how many times his head will not be in the right place for Forest. He thinks he is bigger and better than he is. Always grateful for his contributions but last season proved he is not good enough for the premier league. How much is this maybe down to his agent or his immaturity we will never know. COYB
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springfield added 15:30 - Aug 15 Very measured response :)
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Smithy63 added 15:31 - Aug 15 He's gone from hero to zero in my book,and he's followed in the footsteps of some other players at the moment thats not getting their way by saying l want away if l dont l wont or dont want to play then dont pay them wages.lf u did want to be at ipswich why sign a 5 year contract to me u should have to pay the remaining of ur contract like u would have to with a phone company,anyway if he goes shut the door on ur way out and enjoy heating the subs bench more than here at ipswich

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Edmundo added 15:36 - Aug 15 I can't blame Omari entirely for this: his agent clearly has an almost mafia-like control, which is apparent from the interview Russell Osman alluded to, and from the subtle hints above. We learn: look at who the agent is, and how coercive his behavior is towards his "client".
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Bad_Boy_Mark added 15:36 - Aug 15 A very good player with a high ceiling, but a great shame how this situation has played out. We'll all remember games like Hull away and Manchester United at home fondly but unfortunately we'll also remember Auxerre and Bromley away too. Good luck Omari, we wish you well, just wish you hadn't blotted your copy book...
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Jugsy added 15:38 - Aug 15 As Kieran points out, Omari has been poorly advised. He's a young man with a short career at the top with lots of money being chucked at him. Being told you're an absolute superstar by people supposed to be looking out for you and that the club is holding you back will get into his head. I don't blame Omari, the third parties involved are at fault. I wish him well and it's a sad day to see him and Broady leave the club, despite the ROI.

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Bert added 15:39 - Aug 15 KMcK has spoken of his regret and disappointment at the manner of Omari’s exit and the advice given to him. It’s all been said now so time to draw a line under this destabilising saga and move on. We have an important game on Sunday, new players to bed in and points needed in a difficult period. Time to really get behind the team.
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Suffolkboy added 15:40 - Aug 15 KM again shows us and the ‘football world ‘ that for him and ITFC integrity matters, honesty and ethics do and always will mean a lot :Notwithstanding his genuine fondness of and appreciation of the player shines through! To lose a player with such a budding future ,and who had demonstrated exquisite skills at times ,is a blow ! We move on,and remain full of belief in ITFC and the excellent Management team — more yet to come ! COYB

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Stephbgb added 15:43 - Aug 15 Seems like we didn't play Broadhead in games where we didn't want him to get injured or cup tied which would a) jeopardize his move, b) cup tie him, and c) deny another player minutes on the pitch. But for Hutchinson we criticize him for having (presumably) similar priorities? That doesn't add up to me. I've left jobs before, and in those last weeks / days getting myself motivated isn't easy - and I'm not being asked to do lung busting runs, put myself into tackles, or take actions that could jeopardize my new job. So do I LIKE how things have played out with OH? No, but I can certainly understand them and look at them compassion, especially with someone so young. And if anything I think he lost his mojo - as did many others - around Christmas. No matter how much we wanted the Omari of 2 years ago to be at the club this year, I think that player left us a while ago :-(

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poet added 15:43 - Aug 15 Reading between the lines it suggests that Hutchinson may have been persuaded by people who have had their own interests at heart, rather than his. It doesn’t take a lot of working out exactly where that may have come from. He’s 21, I don’t know the lad, but perhaps he’s easily led, perhaps he isn’t, only those that know him well, would be able to say, and I guess one of those people is Kieran McKenna. Football is a money driven business these days, and there’s lots of people out there who can’t wait to get their sticky little fingers on it, sometimes at the detriment of others.

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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 15:44 - Aug 15 As always, very measured and sensible comments from KM. I was really disappointed with OH and still am to an extent but I guess if it was already in the pipeline then he/us/Forest wouldnt want him getting injured.
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petieboy2011 added 15:51 - Aug 15 On one hand you cant blame Hutch for wanting to play in the Premier League as soon as possible, particularly with there being a World Cup at the end of the coming season and he may well back himself to get into Tuchel's squad IF he performs well at the highest level. But on the other hand, the way this transfer has panned out has left a sour taste in many people's mouths. Philogene, Clarke, Smodzics all need to step up now and give us the impact that Hutch did, particularly in our promotion campaign from the Championship. At the moment its a bitter situation, but im sure in time people will remember Hutch for the goals he scored for us and for THAT celebration and have a smile on their faces whilst doing so!

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Bazza8564 added 15:58 - Aug 15 The club have made it very clear that Omari has chosen to make himself unavailable. Thats the players decision, not the club's. If the club had protected it's value on transfer it would have been a different story but for the player and the agent to decide not to play so not to risk an exit smacks of "sod you I don't care". Ive no time for that. ITFC deserves better
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darkhorse28 added 16:28 - Aug 15 I’m sure Omari was disappointed with his manager spending last summer touting himself to any club that would have him, at the peak of his media hype. He was professional enough not to throw McKenna to the wolves though. Pathetic levels of hypocrisy.., this isn’t leadership. It’s an abdication of what managing elite performers actually is. Broadhead had a ‘sore throat’ .., completely different treatment, a child, treated like a convenient scapegoat for senior management failures, and strategic ineptitude.

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OliveR16 added 16:29 - Aug 15 Given Kieran's professional politeness and tact, that is about as damning a statement regarding an agent and/or advisors and a young player that you are ever likely to hear. And rightly so. I for one do not wish Hutchinson well.
4

darkhorse28 added 16:32 - Aug 15 There was a really good football project for you here Kieren.., when you were allowed to talk to, and agreed terms with Brighton. Maybe Hutchinson also needed the owners to fly in, tripple his wages, and promise £150 million investment in the squad. Woeful man management. Sam Morsy for management, more integrity in his little finger than any of our senior management.

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BeachBlue added 16:32 - Aug 15 I'm not angry, I'm just saddened by it all. The sooner the transfer is complete, the better, after that move on and get behind the team. We've still got great players and good people here. I don't blame Omari as so much agents and peer pressure from other players in the under 21's. Time to move on.
3

BeachBlue added 16:32 - Aug 15 I'm not angry, I'm just saddened by it all. The sooner the transfer is complete, the better, after that move on and get behind the team. We've still got great players and good people here. I don't blame Omari as so much agents and peer pressure from other players in the under 21's. Time to move on.
2

itfc2024 added 16:38 - Aug 15 bye bye you sulky baby hope your career don't go as u want and u rot in the reserves treat my football club badly I hope your career goes badly aswell
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barrystedmunds added 16:39 - Aug 15 Some folk on here really need to find another bone to chew!!!
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virginblue added 16:46 - Aug 15 Given that you pan him at every opportunity I’d have hoped you could spell his name Darkhorse. But it’s in keeping with all of your drivel and generally low IQ I guess.
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Bluewhiteboy added 16:48 - Aug 15 How much he could have handled better and how much the club could have who knows. If you had the opportunity to prob double your wages at a bigger company, whilst that company has made a lot of money from you, would you not feel a bit betrayed. We always say how greedy the players are when the clubs are most greedy
1

cooper4england added 16:52 - Aug 15 McKenna not comparable. Never did he stop managing ITFC. Yes he did agree terms with Brighton, only to mess them about when Man U dangled a carrot. But he never refused to come in to work. No issue with people moving jobs. I've had over twenty in my adult life. What Omari should have done was agreed to sit on the bench, in both clubs interested for him not to be injured. The deplorable thing he did was refuse to engage with his employer. That's wrong.

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Fat_Boy_Tim added 16:57 - Aug 15 I think we should all be a bit calmer about the Omari thing. We shouldn't have been relying on him to beat Bromley in the first place. On top of that, in 12 months (he was on loan before that) he just earned us about £15m and we wouldn't have got to the premier League without him which gave us £100m to spend on him and Delap et al. As a club we are immensely stronger for those two years we got from a 19 (when he joined) year old. Let's not slowly turn into entitled Leicester or Southampton fans, these are fantastic and extraordinary times for our club and we need to enjoy them. We've already spent in excess of £30m at the start of a Championship season. That was probably a decade's worth of spending not long ago.

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chepstowblue added 17:02 - Aug 15 I'd expect nothing less from a low IQ, high ego, entitled, twenty one yr old footballer.The attitude of this generation is nothing other than sh*t. He was without doubt the most gifted player at the club, and would have certainly been the one most likely to have set us apart from the rest this season. I'm not sure that we have anyone now who'll make me think that 'something might happen here' and get me off my seat. We now have a squad weaker than the group that got us promoted from league one, and the togetherness and spirit around the club has definitely gone.

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