Omari Elijah Giraud-Hutchinson (born 30 October 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Premier League club Ipswich Town. Born in England, he plays for the Jamaica national 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 for an undisclosed fee.[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]
Born in England, Hutchinson is of Jamaican descent. He is a youth international for England, having represented the England U17s and U19s.[17][18]
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.[19][20] 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 to Trinidad and Tobago on 11 March 2023.[21]
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.[22][23]
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)