![]() Hutchinson with Ipswich Town in 2024 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Omari Elijah Giraud-Hutchinson [1] | ||
Date of birth | 30 October 2003 | ||
Place of birth | Redhill, England [2] | ||
Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) [3] | ||
Position(s) | Winger, attacking midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Ipswich Town | ||
Number | 20 | ||
Youth career | |||
2008–2012 | Chelsea | ||
2012–2014 | Charlton Athletic | ||
2015–2022 | Arsenal | ||
2022–2023 | Chelsea | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2023–2024 | Chelsea | 1 | (0) |
2023–2024 | → Ipswich Town (loan) | 44 | (10) |
2024– | Ipswich Town | 23 | (2) |
International career‡ | |||
2020 | England U17 | 3 | (0) |
2021 | England U19 | 1 | (0) |
2023 | Jamaica | 2 | (0) |
2024– | England U21 | 2 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:06, 15 February 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:31, 15 October 2024 (UTC) |
Omari Elijah Giraud-Hutchinson (born 30 October 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Premier League club Ipswich Town and the England national under-21 team.
Hutchinson was born in Redhill, England. [4] He grew up in South London along with his older brother O'Shaye, who has played for Non-League Burgess Hill Town, East Grinstead Town and Ramsgate. [5]
Hutchinson began his career with Chelsea, [6] joining in 2008. [7] In a video posted on Chelsea's official website in late July 2023, Hutchinson's father stated that he had been released twice by Chelsea as a child. [8] In 2012, he was scouted and signed by Charlton Athletic while playing football in the Addicks car park as his brother, Oshaye, was training with the youth team. [9] While at Charlton, he caught the eye of North-London rivals Arsenal, having impressed in a game against them. [10]
After two years with Charlton, Hutchinson left the club and trials with Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford followed, but ultimately led to nothing. Hutchinson took a year-long break from academy football to play futsal with his friends, before joining Arsenal at under-12 level. [9] Hutchinson also stated that he spent time with Crystal Palace prior to joining Arsenal. [8]
At the age of twelve, Hutchinson took part in a South-London tournament hosted by Brazilian football legend Pelé, who praised Hutchinson for his skills. At the tournament, he also met football content creators F2Freestylers, who invited him to star in a video on their YouTube channel. The video, showcasing Hutchinson's skills, has amassed over four million views. [9]
In November 2020, Hutchinson signed his first professional contract with Arsenal. [11] He was handed a place on the bench for the Arsenal senior team for the first time in their 1–0 FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest on 9 January 2022. [12]
On 16 July 2022, Hutchinson rejoined Chelsea. [13] He made his professional debut on 5 January 2023 in a 1–0 home defeat against Manchester City, coming on as a second-half substitute. [14]
On 20 July 2023, Hutchinson agreed to join newly-promoted Championship side Ipswich Town on a season-long loan. [15] Despite being unable to fully cement himself in the starting eleven, he was awarded the EFL Championship Player of the Month award for February 2024 having scored three injury-time goals, also contributing two assists.
After helping the club gain promotion to the Premier League after 22 years away, Hutchinson rejoined Ipswich Town on 30 June 2024 and signed a five-year contract for a club-record fee. [16] On 24 November 2024, Hutchinson scored his first Premier League goal in a 1–1 home draw against Manchester United. [17] On 30 December 2024, Hutchinson scored in a 2–0 home league victory over his former club Chelsea to secure the club’s first Premier League home win since 2002. [18]
Born in England, Hutchinson is of Jamaican descent. He is a youth international for England, having represented the England U17s and U19s. [19] [20]
He was called up to the Jamaica national team in May 2022, and made his unofficial debut in a 6–0 loss to Catalonia in the same month. [21] [22] In November 2022, Hutchinson was told by Chelsea not to report for international duty with Jamaica, so that he could be involved in first team matches with The Blues. [7]
He made his first official start for Jamaica in a 1–0 loss in a friendly to Trinidad and Tobago on 11 March 2023. [23]
In August 2024, Hutchinson was called up to the England U21 side. [24] He made his debut for that age group during a dramatic 2–1 win over Ukraine at Dean Court on 11 October 2024. [25]
Hutchinson was involved in the Amazon Original sports docuseries All or Nothing: Arsenal , which documented the club by spending time with the coaching staff and players behind the scenes both on and off the field throughout their 2021–22 season. [26] [27]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Arsenal U21 | 2021–22 [29] | — | — | — | 4 [a] | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||||
Chelsea U21 | 2022–23 [30] | — | — | — | 4 [a] | 1 | 4 | 1 | ||||
Chelsea | 2022–23 [30] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
2023–24 [31] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
Total | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
Ipswich Town (loan) | 2023–24 [31] | Championship | 44 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 50 | 11 | |
Ipswich Town | 2024–25 [32] | Premier League | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 24 | 2 | |
Career total | 68 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 84 | 16 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Jamaica | 2023 | 2 | 0 |
Total | 2 | 0 |
Ipswich Town
Individual
Initially spotted as a five-year-old at Chelsea's pre-academy development centre in Lambeth, Chelsea successfully fended off other suitors to sign [Malcolm Ebiowei] up. The Bermondsey-raised winger was part of a group including Omari Hutchinson and Brooke Norton-Cuffy, who later followed Ebiowei from west to north London to join Arsenal's famed Hale End academy as youngsters.(subscription required)