Chelsea close to securing £22m transfer ahead of June 30 FFP deadline

Ipswich Town have made a £22million offer to Chelsea for winger Omari Hutchinson, football.london understands.

Chelsea and the Tractor Boys remain in talks over a permanent deal to see the Jamaica international move to Portman Road after spending the 2023/24 season on loan there. Personal terms are still being discussed between Hutchinson and Ipswich over a long-term contract but there is a confidence from all parties that a deal can be struck.

Hutchinson was a revelation for Ipswich in the Championship last season, where his 10 goals and six assists helped the Tractor Boys achieve promotion back to the Premier League for the first time in 22 years. After Kieran McKenna signed a new contract at Ipswich, following interest from Chelsea, the manager made it clear from the start that he wanted to bring Hutchinson back to the club.

The 20-year-old had 12 months remaining on his contract at Stamford Bridge but Chelsea chose to exercise the option to extend his deal by a further year. That has somewhat protected his value and has meant the west Londoners have been able to ask for a bit more for his sale.

Hutchinson thoroughly enjoyed his season with Ipswich, with it being his first real experience of consistent senior football, and spoke about it earlier this month. "It was a great season and a great year," Hutchinson said.

"From the minute I stepped into the building, all the boys were on it. They gave me a lot of confidence when I was training that I would take into my matches. We showed relentlessness and ruthlessness, we stayed composed and we got to the Premier League.

READ MORE: Chelsea's Alexander Isak transfer stance revealed as club close in on triple signing

READ MORE: Chelsea's forgotten £75m man could ignite dream partnership amid Murillo transfer interest

"The culture was about being humble, being willing to work for the team and the badge because it's a community club. All the fans love the club and you have to represent the badge really well and show humility.

"I would probably say it was the perfect loan move - you couldn't really get much better, could you? Getting promotion was the ideal thing.

Sign up to our Chelsea WhatsApp service and get all the latest breaking news and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Chelsea writers direct to your phone by clicking this link.

"My intentions were to get into the team; get as many minutes and as much experience as possible from my teammates and the manager - and that ended up being the case. I just wanted to help out the team as much as possible."