Home » Omari Hutchinson insight: Scouting report, stats, transfer rating and more
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Omari Hutchinson insight: Scouting report, stats, transfer rating and more

Photo: AC Milan

Omari Hutchinson was AC Milan’s fifth signing of the summer transfer window, and he would end up being the final one.

Milan were linked with a number of different names for the attacking midfielder role, and it was reported from early on that Ruben Amorim wanted a left-footed player who could operate as an inverted playmaker in the right-sided position behind the striker.

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The likes of Konstantinos Karetsas, Kerim Alajbegovic, Matias Soule, Brahim Diaz and Ethan Nwaneri were all mentioned as targets. However, with just a few days of the window left, Hutchinson entered the frame.

Things moved quickly as Milan and Nottingham Forest shook hands on what is being widely reported to be a €3-4m loan with a €40m option to buy. The signing was announced the night before deadline day, and Hutchinson spoke about what a ‘crazy dream’ the whirlwind 48 hours has been.

Back story

Omari Elijah Giraud-Hutchinson was born on 30 October 2003 in Redhill, England, a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead within the county of Surrey.

In his younger years he quickly became hooked on playing football in south London along with his older brother O’Shaye. Omari joined Chelsea in 2008 when he was just five years old, but he had already been rejected after a couple of trials with the club.

He spent four years in Chelsea’s academy, progressing up the age groups and getting scouted by Charlton Athletic, funnily enough while playing football in the car park as his brother – Oshaye – was training with the youth team.

Three years followed back in south London until Arsenal came along and signed him, having been impressed by a game he played against them. Hutchinson had previously trialled with the Gunners, as well as Spurs and Brentford.

omari hutchinson
Photo: Arsenal.com

The teenager chose to take a year off and ended up joining a futsal team with friends, but ultimately he would end up joining Arsenal and becoming part of their U12s. When he was 12 he played in a tournament hosted by football icon Pele, who would praise Omari for his ability.

Fast-forwarding to November 2020, Hutchinson signed his first professional contract with Arsenal as a 17-year-old. In 2020-21 he shone in the U18 Premier League with 15 goal contributions (seven goals, eight assists) in 20 games.

This earned him graduation to the Premier League 2 the following season, where he got six goals and as many assists in 17 games. He was on the bench for the Arsenal first team for the first time in their 1-0 FA Cup defeat to Nottingham Forest on 9 January 2022, but didn’t come on.

Sensing the time was right to move, Hutchinson decided to make the switch from north to west London to rejoin Chelsea. In January 2023, he came on for his professional debut in a 1–0 home defeat against Manchester City, and that season he would amass 15 goal contributions in 21 PL2 games, with seven of them goals.

The decision was taken in agreement with Chelsea that a loan was best to get regular senior minutes, and he went to Ipswich Town who had just got back into the Championship from League One. He helped them secure an instant promotion to the top flight with his 10 goals and six assists in 44 league games.

He signed a five-year contract with the Tractor Boys for a club-record fee, believed to be around €23-24m. On 24 November 2024, Hutchinson scored his first Premier League goal in a 1–1 home draw against Manchester United, who were being coached for the first time by Ruben Amorim.

In December of the same year, Hutchinson scored in a 2-0 home win over his former club Chelsea to secure the club’s first Premier League victory at Portman Road since 2002. Relegation back to the second tier would unfortunately follow.

On 16 August 2025, Nottingham Forest gave Hutchinson an instant Premier League return as they announced the signing of Hutchinson on a five-year contract for a fee of £37.5m (around €44m). It wasn’t an easy first season for him by the Trent as they went through four head coach, but he did register nine goal contributions (eight of them assists) in 42 games.

In terms of his international career to date, Hutchinson is of Jamaican descent so could represent them but chose to go with England. He was called up by England U17s in February 2020, then in 2021 he graduated to England U19s, playing qualifiers.

However, a battle then ensued as Hutchinson was called up to the Jamaica national team in May 2022, making his unofficial debut in a 6–0 loss to Catalonia in the same month. A first official start for the Reggae Boys came in a 1-0 loss in a friendly to Trinidad and Tobago in March 2023.

The Three Lions came knocking again in August 2024, when Omari was called up to the England U21 side. He played in a 2–1 win over Ukraine, then four days later on 15 August he scored his first international goal during their last qualifier against Azerbaijan at Ashton Gate.

Hutchinson was named in the England squad for the 2025 UEFA European U21 Championship and it would provide his crowning international moment to date: he scored a goal in the final as England defeated Germany 3–2 after extra time to lift the trophy.

Strengths and weaknesses

Hutchinson stands at 1.74m. Despite his height, he has big strides when carrying the ball, allowing him to cover ground quickly. He has recorded a top speed of 35.6 km/h, and his ability to accelerate quickly towards top speed makes him dangerous when attacking space.

He also tries to use his body to put himself between the ball and the defender, helping him protect possession. Aerial ability, however, is not one of his strengths.

Overall, his physical profile is built more around acceleration, pace and ball protection than aerial ability.

Technical ability: Hutchinson has a solid first touch and is ambidextrous, allowing him to take his first touch comfortably with either foot. His low centre of gravity helps him remain agile and balanced when carrying the ball.

He can shift lanes very quickly, making him difficult to track in 1v1 situations. When dribbling, he consistently looks to open his body, giving himself multiple options to change direction.

The 22-year-old has a tendency to cut inside when carrying the ball, particularly when attacking from the flank. He is very capable in 1v1 situations, using his agility and changes of direction to beat defenders.

His ability to take on defenders also means he draws a lot of fouls, giving his team opportunities to progress through set plays.

Crossing: Omari Hutchinson’s body stance when dribbling allows him to transition smoothly into a crossing action. He consistently looks up before delivering, scanning the box and assessing his options.

He can deliver both inswinging and outswinging crosses, giving him versatility depending on the situation. This makes the Englishman capable of varying his delivery rather than relying on one type of cross.

Pressing: Hutchinson is comfortable pressing high up the pitch, looking to engage opponents in advanced areas. He actively looks to block passing lanes and limit the opponent’s options.

He also works to cut off the passing lane back towards the centre backs, preventing the opposition from simply recycling possession.

In the defensive phase, he stays close to his marker and looks to win the ball back as quickly as possible.

His pressing style is different from Cissé’s. While Cissé is more likely to use his body to engage and disrupt opponents, Hutchinson relies heavily on his speed and acceleration to close down space. Two different profiles, but both capable of contributing to an aggressive pressing structure.

Tactical fit: Amorim needed a left footed option for the RAM role, and Hutchinson fits that profile. He is already familiar with playing as a RAM in a 3-4-2-1, having done so under Kieran McKenna.

The former Ipswich man’s pressing qualities could be particularly useful in the final third, with Milan looking to develop into a more aggressive high pressing side. His ability to dribble and travel quickly with the ball can also give Milan another weapon during transitions.

His pace allows him to carry possession over distance, potentially turning defensive recoveries into dangerous attacking situations. So, on paper, this is a profile that fits several of the requirements of Amorim’s system.

Areas to improve

One of the concerns about Hutchinson is that he can give the ball away too cheaply by trying to dribble his way out of situations too often.

Given that a lot of teams like to contain and counter in Serie A, it poses the risk that he might get crowded out and this could leave Milan exposed to a chance on the counter.

Hutchinson’s dribbling ability means he draws plenty of fouls, but given the level of refereeing in Italy, the question is whether those challenges will consistently be called.

Finally, his lack of physicality is another concern. He can be easily knocked off the ball when challenged physically, which again could become something targeted in Serie A.

omari hutchinson

Statistical comparison

➤ Top speed: 35.8 km/ph
➤ Distance covered: 11km per game
➤ No. of sprints: 15.66
➤ Successful crosses: 1.5 (90th percentile)
➤ Successful dribbles: 2.19 (85th percentile)
➤ Possession won in final third: 0.75 (74th percentile)

Comparing Hutchinson’s metrics from his 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons with Ipswich and Forest respectively makes for interesting reading, especially when put up against Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao and another target in Ethan Nwaneri (all 2024-25).

What is clear instantly is how well-rounded profiles Leao and Pulisic are as wingers (as they played the season before last), scoring high in key passes, ball carrying, dribbles, non-penalty goals and assists.

Nwaneri meanwhile is a bit more raw as a profile, but at 18 years of age as he was he already showed signs of having potential as a top ball carrier, dribbler, scorer and creator.

For Hutchinson, the transition from Kieran McKenna’s 3-4-2-1 to the many systems at Forest proved difficult to get a true read on things. However, in Nottingham he outperformed his previous season in all areas but non-penalty goals, perhaps due to seeing more of the ball in a bit of a better team.

What is encouraging about 2025-26 for Omari Hutchinson is that his per-game metrics in key passes, crosses, carries, dribbles and assists were right towards the top. Perhaps a settled environment and a team wanting to dominate games with possession can help that even more.

Image: DataMB

Conclusion

We hope to be wrong, but based on everything seen, it’s hard to imagine this being the difference between sixth and fourth for Milan, or even between fourth and a title push.

That said, if the reports are accurate and Amorim is very keen on bringing Hutchinson in, one would obviously trust the manager’s judgement and give it time. After all, a loan with option is ultimately a test drive.

Transfer rating: 5.5/10

Tags AC Milan Omari Hutchinson

10 Comments

  1. He had eight assists in a team that barely scored. I think his cross could be useful for Ramos. I think a 6-6.5 might be a better rating. Not my first choice.

  2. Perfectly reasonable assessment. This is a risky stop gap.

    Hope he exceeds expectations and performs brilliantly but im not holding my breath.

  4. If a Barca reject, aka Trincao, could have been turned into one of the top CAMs and supply Gyokeres, I think Hutchinson can become new Puli for us…

    The kid has skills, if Musah could be trained to use his natural talents, any talented kid can under Mister.

    5.5 if fair for now, but by January I think he might have nice assist count already.

    RLC, Estupinan staying is the biggest downgrade of the summer, not this kid

  5. Hajjball had a great video on his profile on YouTube. Worth checking out. Essentially he thinks this is a great fit for Amorin-ball because he was statistically one of the best defensive press players in the EPL.

    His stats were better away from Forrest because they were leaving him isolated on the right. Our game plan will be more like what he had at Ipswich.

    1. Hajjball also had a video claiming Estupinan would be a great signing when he joined.

      So let’s take his predictions with a pinch of salt. It’s nice to be optimistic but won’t expect too much . Realistically Hutchison sees out his loan, we send him back summer 2027 and sign a starter at R10

  6. Seems like his playing style is suitable for Amorim. With only loan and option to buy, it’s pretty good deal. The riskier move is Moreira. Hope he’ll be our regular starter soon.

  7. If this is the best we can get, on the very last day of the transfer market, for ~50 million in total — then it is a scouting failure.

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