Ipswich Town winger Omari Hutchinson is being eyed by Brentford as a Bryan Mbeumo replacement, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Ipswich Town are coming back down to the Championship after failing to retain their Premier League status. ITFC put up a good fight, but ultimately finished 19th and a significant 16 points from safety.
The Tractor Boys will be expecting to lose more key assets after Liam Delap made an early-window move to Chelsea, but Kieran McKenna and co will hope to retain a squad strong enough to fight for an immediate top flight return.
ITFC - Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna
Image courtesy of: CRAIG BROUGH/REUTERS.
One man to attract attention from elsewhere is Omari Hutchinson, and it seems a club that could offer him a Portman Road escape is Brentford.
Writing on X, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has said that the Bees are considering the Ipswich Town winger as a potential replacement for Cameroonian talisman Bryan Mbeumo, who is a £65m target for Premier League giants Manchester United.
Brentford have not yet held talks with ITFC, but Romano says that Hutchinson is a player they ‘appreciate’ and are showing initial interest.
Having signed permanently from Chelsea on a five-year contract last summer, Hutchinson still has four years left on his deal in East Anglia.
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Ipswich Town must fight to keep Omari Hutchinson
While Ipswich Town have been relegated, they are a club in a strong financial position. They will not be forced into selling players below market value and while potential departures are speculated, business over incomings is ongoing too.
However, Hutchinson is a player ITFC must fight to keep. The England U21 star can be a crucial asset in the Championship and looking to the long-term, he is someone the Tractor Boys will want on the books if they return to the Premier League too.
ipswich town, Ipswich Town star eyed by Brentford as potential replacement for £65m man
Image courtesy of: CRAIG BROUGH/REUTERS.
Another Championship campaign may be frowned upon, but another year of being a star player under his belt could aid his development and increase his stock even further.
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Losing the 21-year-old would be a big blow, even if a sizeable fee comes Town’s way.
Big shoes to fill if Hutchinson heads to Brentford
Brentford aren’t a club who sign ready-made players – they sign younger assets who can develop into stars. Hutchinson would not be expected to join from Ipswich Town and match Mbeumo’s output off the bat, but if they want him as a replacement, it is because they can see him doing so in the long term.
It is also the exact reason why Town signed him from Chelsea permanently last summer – in a bid to become a Premier League regular, they targeted assets who could follow the club’s upward trajectory.
Relegation may mean key assets like Hutchinson follow Delap in moving on, but the recent deal for Azor Matusiwa serves as a reminder that ITFC maintain their top flight ambitions despite the drop to the Championship. This could help them keep their stars, but interest will test their resolve.
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