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HIT THE SWICH
Chelsea wonderkid once praised by the legendary Pele aiming to take Ipswich to Premier League glory
Youngster was once on the books of Chelsea'a fierce London rivals Arsenal
OMARI HUTCHINSON was once praised by Pele and has met his hero Neymar.
And the on-loan Chelsea kid has been producing some samba magic of his own at promotion-chasing Ipswich.
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The attacking midfielder, 20, met the late Brazilian legend while playing in a tournament for Arsenal as a 12-year-old.
Hutchinson told SunSport: “We were playing at Brentford’s training ground and you had the likes of Bayern Munich, Chelsea, a lot of the top teams from across the world there.
“After the tournament finished, they gathered everyone together and picked one player from each team to showcase their skills.
“Everyone at Arsenal was shouting my name to go forward so I did a few skills.
“And Pele said a few nice words to me and let me sit on his knee. We then took a group photo with him.
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“My grandmother Gloria is a huge fan of Pele. She loved him to bits so for me to see him and rest on his knee was a dream come true for her.
“She used to get me a lot of Pele posters, books, stuff like that to hang around my wall.
“My grandmother is always tuned into my football and printing off photos for me.
“But Pele was my hero growing up. I used to watch a lot of Santi Cazorla, Neymar and Messi.
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“I’d spend hours watching videos of them and trying to replicate what they were doing in training.”
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While meeting Pele at Brentford, he also was introduced to football freestylers F2 – Aka William Wingrove and Jeremy Lynch.
Hutchinson was invited by the pair to do a skills video on their YouTube channel, which went viral with more than FOUR MILLION hits.
He said: “I was so happy. I missed a day at school to shoot that.”
And the on-loan Ipswich ace went on to meet his other Brazilian hero Neymar two years ago while in Paris at a sponsorship event and managed to grab him for a photo.
Hutchinson joined Chelsea two years ago for a THIRD time – having previously been released twice.
He said: “They let me go when I was very young – once for not being too small and another for not being technically good enough.”
But Charlton signed him after seeing him doing keepy-ups in their training ground car park!
Hutchinson said: “My older brother Oshaye used to play and I’d go with him to train.
“I used to get bored and kicked a ball about in the parking lot. I’d do a lot of kick-ups, skills and stuff like that. I had no idea anyone was watching me.
“One of the scouts noticed and told my dad they wanted to sign me so I joined Charlton!”
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Eventually Hutchinson took a year out of academy football to play Futsal, which helped him hone his skills further, before joining Arsenal where he progressed through the ranks.
The midfield ace was named on the bench for an FA Cup game against Nottingham Forest in January 2022.
He said: “Arsenal was a great experience. I joined when Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were there. Watching them for the first time was just crazy.
“Once I started performing in the under-21s, I was getting more recognition and was training with them a lot more. There were times when I was on the bench a lot and just gaining experience and seeing what it’s like to be in the men’s changing room.
“But at the same time it was frustrating because that is when Amazon were making their documentary and the team wasn’t doing so well.
“Yet that was good for me – to see that side of football and how players react when they’re losing at half-time. I gained a lot of experience from that.”
Hutchinson returned to Chelsea two years ago and had a baptism of fire – making his Premier League debut against Manchester City as a 68th-minute sub last January at Stamford Bridge.
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He said: “I’ll forever be grateful to Graham Potter for giving me my debut.
“Chelsea have been great. The staff put no pressure on me. There were a lot of possession-based, game-based training sessions. It was just fun to be involved.
“Some coaches can get on to you when you make a mistake but at Chelsea it’s been so much more chilled. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time there.
And this season has been his first proper senior football experience with Ipswich – clocking up 11 Championship starts with another 24 appearances from the bench
Hutchinson won his first award in the professional game by scooping the SkyBet Championship player of the month.
And during February he was the last-minute goal king – scoring three times in the 90th, a leveller against West Brom, a winner against Rotherham and a clincher against Birmingham.
He said: “I’ve two ambitions. Short term is to get promoted with Ipswich and long term to play for one of the biggest teams in the world and win trophies
“Playing in the Championship this season has been a great place for me to learn
“You only have to look at Jude Bellingham to see what’s possible. He’s played at this level for Birmingham and is now playing on the biggest stag
“This division toughens you u
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“I’ve learned to be more switched on, doing the defensive side of the work and being able to get forward at the same time.
“Also I’ve worked hard on my finishing and improved that part of my gam
“The manager Kieran McKenna has been great for me. He always makes sure I never drop my head. It’s all about staying confident and then everything will click.”
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