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

Facefacts added 17:07 - Aug 15 Incredibly lucky to have their transfer fees inflated by EURO U21s cup win and Wrexham riches, when considering how good/bad they were in the Premier League, we shouldn't try to hold on to players who want to leave. There is no club loyalty, and careers are short. We should be in a good position to recoup £100M of last summer's spend, this is one success of the Premier League season we had. Then work to build a squad capable of having another promotion season by the end of August, and add some more players in Jan to get us over the line. Getting players to join us is difficult but have to keep working 24/7 to persuade them.

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Lightningboy added 17:10 - Aug 15 Don't blame him for wanting to play in the prem (even though I think it's the most overrated league in the world)..but there are ways of going about getting there,his way is the way that totally loses respect. I'd have Wes Burns on that right wing everytime over somebody with Hutchinson's attitude.
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runningout added 17:14 - Aug 15 some of our fans have surprised me how wet they are
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Fat_Boy_Tim added 17:16 - Aug 15 BTW - Smodics refused to play for Peterborough in order to get a move to us. If you are all on a moral crusade here you can start hating on Sam!
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ArnieM added 17:16 - Aug 15 You have a very low bar of standards....
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ArnieM added 17:17 - Aug 15 Runningout: You have a very low bar of standards re professionalism.
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WestSussexBlue added 17:18 - Aug 15 Itfc2024: oh dear your response is really unwarranted and in actual fact the complete opposite of what McKenna has actually said. We’re all disappointed of course, but it’s time to drop the bitter over the top comments, wish the lad the well and move on. Sunday’s game is very important, it’s time to believe in our motto.. “Run towards adversity” not whinge about it.

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Lukeybluey added 17:19 - Aug 15 I think Kia Joorabchian is a well know blood sucking leach of an agent, so no surprise then...
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Monkey_Blue added 17:28 - Aug 15 People keep saying Omari is a young lad… he’s 21 not 5 and he wasn’t being persuaded the tooth fairy exists. Of course he will mature but I don’t think 21 is too young to know when you are not doing the right thing.
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Monkey_Blue added 17:28 - Aug 15 People keep saying Omari is a young lad… he’s 21 not 5 and he wasn’t being persuaded the tooth fairy exists. Of course he will mature but I don’t think 21 is too young to know when you are not doing the right thing.
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Karlosfandangal added 18:05 - Aug 15 Agent gets a cut when he signed for Town and 12 months later another cut whe he signs for Forest…… surely the player must see that
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dubblue added 18:50 - Aug 15 I think the difference in the reaction to the departure of Nathan and OH says it all, I don’t think Omari will get as much first team football this season as he would like but I think over a couple of seasons his skill will shine through. Whether it is he or his agent who is to blame can be debated I think there is enough blame to share but we move on. Town have pocketed well over £45 allowing for some payback to Chelsea let’s hope we use this wisely!

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ITFC1977 added 19:16 - Aug 15 Edmundo he’s agent has done his job perfectly. It’s exactly why players have agents. The agent got his money which is all he cares about, omari got the move that he clearly wanted, there’s nothing “mafia” about it. I don’t like it anymore than you but this is football now and there’s nothing we can do about it. Omari has no real loyalty to us, and if he was awful for us we’d have no loyalty to him ( look at muric ). You can’t have it both ways.

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armchaircritic59 added 19:25 - Aug 15 Oh I didn't know Joorabcian was his agent. I know him from another sphere of the sporting world, ( not personally ). I'll bet MA has enjoyed that little tussle, it's all I'm saying!
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armchaircritic59 added 19:34 - Aug 15 Fat Boy Tim, unsurprising SS refused to play for Peterborough before coming here!
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StrathdonBlue added 19:53 - Aug 15 If anyone wants to cast blame, aim it where it belongs, that's the agent, not a 21-year-old whose talent is for football, not diplomacy. With the players we still have in those attacking positions, I don't think we'll miss Omari, whereas the cash might come in handy elsewhere. And if I were a Forest fan, I wouldn't be too happy at the idea of replacing Elanga - probably the most exciting player in the PL last season - with a kid who did well in the Championship but looked out of his depth in the big league.

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StrathdonBlue added 19:53 - Aug 15 If anyone wants to cast blame, aim it where it belongs, that's the agent, not a 21-year-old whose talent is for football, not diplomacy. With the players we still have in those attacking positions, I don't think we'll miss Omari, whereas the cash might come in handy elsewhere. And if I were a Forest fan, I wouldn't be too happy at the idea of replacing Elanga - probably the most exciting player in the PL last season - with a kid who did well in the Championship but looked out of his depth in the big league.

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eunos added 20:04 - Aug 15 I think some posters on here need to take a leaf from KMcKs book and chill out. It's football, no point being bitter and tainting the incredible memories we have of OH. I suspect we were planning / expecting OH to leave all summer, and that's why we extended his summer break, we have got a very good price for a still unproven prem winger and part of that was dependent on him not being injured or cup tied. It's just business - no point taking it personally. Coyb

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westernblue added 20:16 - Aug 15 OliveR16, you have summed the situation up perfectly. We all know Kieran McKenna by now. And horrible as Premiership football has become, these were the words that matter: ‘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’. Hutchinson, good riddance.

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backwaywhen added 21:06 - Aug 15 Darkhorse Have you got your ticket for Portsmouth tomorrow……what a complete Plum you are.
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Daniel72 added 21:41 - Aug 15 McKenna speaks with decency.. we are still fortunate to have him at the helm for our future fortune.
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Paulc added 22:35 - Aug 15 Came on to the comments section to see the string of apologies offered to KM after the apparent all knowing posters that have been to quick to make the wrong assumptions about him, but can’t see any. Obviously you’re still going to get the odd dark horse amongst us who continues to show a complete lack of class. I for one take KM at his word. Agents are the scum of football.

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VILJOEN67 added 00:30 - Aug 16 I think Omari probably was prepared to train and play as normal. The turning point in his attitude was most likely the upping of the agreed release fee from £35 million to £40 million, although the club are within their rights to demand more he and his agent probably felt the club were making his desire to play in the premier league more difficult. Ipswich though were not standing in his way but rather asking what they thought he is worth. I have so enjoyed watching him play and wish him well in the future.

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JCTractorboy added 00:56 - Aug 16 Honestly town fans’ response to this has been so sad to see in my book. The lad signed for us last season over other clubs because of what he experienced that promotion season. He’s gone for big profit after relegation. If he’s told club he wants to go prior to brum game then I can’t imagine a world where even the club would want him on pitch. Small chance he makes difference against brum but likely doesn’t then moves next week or he gets injured and club lose out on £37.5 mill and the player because he’s injured. His time here has been a big success and we’ve made millions off him both from sale and from his contributions to promotion to prem. His loyalty was signing last year when he could’ve gone elsewhere…embarrassed by some town fans atm

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