Omari Hutchinson, an ex-Arsenal trainee who spent a stellar season-long loan with English Championship runners up Ipswich Town, appears to be on the move to the Netherlands.
The London-born Jamaican international is a wanted man by fallen Dutch giants Ajax and last term’s Eredivisie runners up Feyenoord, having impressed as a whizzy winger last season.
He plies his trade with big-spending English Premier League (EPL) outfit Chelsea. He was sent out to newly-promoted Ipswich as he was deemed to be surplus to requirements at the start of the campaign.
Hutchinson’s boss at Ipswich was Kieran McKenna, who is apparently on the shortlist of five head coaches to replace recently departed head coach Mauricio Pochettino. If McKenna becomes their in-coming coach, he may well insist on keeping Hutchinson at Chelsea.
McKenna and Hutchinson worked well together at Ipswich. The club were on fire with free-flowing football during their impressive campaign, which saw Hutchinson net ten goals.
Although Hutchinson returned to Chelsea, and immediately jetted off on vacation, he now finds the West London club managerless. In the background Dutch clubs clamour to take him on loan, with an option to buy at around €18 million (US$19m).
Hutchinson is one of two talented and young attacking Jamaican players with Chelsea, both tagged as a “wonderkid”. Dujuan “Whisper” Richards, 18, has yet to make his EPL debut but had been training this year with the first-team squad after impressing Pochettino.
Jamaica face 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against minnows Dominican Republic and Dominica next month, before tackling the 16-team CONMEBOL Copa America with group games against Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela.
Both Hutchinson and Richards are expected to be called up by head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson for the tournament extravaganza, which will be played in the United States (20 June-14 July).
Hutchinson has only made two appearances for the Reggae Boyz because Chelsea have never been keen for him to go on international duty.
He made his debut for Jamaica in their 6-0 humiliating defeat to Catalonia in an unofficial friendly in May 2022, and started in the 1-0 reversal to Trinidad & Tobago in March 2023. Former Phoenix All Stars Football Academy ace Richards is more of a veteran, with ten international appearances but just one goal for Jamaica.
For 20-year-old Hutchinson, voted Ipswich’s Young Player of the Season, the future looks promising to showcase his silky skills. He could be given the chance to shine on the Copa America stage, and then light up the top-flight in either the Netherlands or in England.
Until a new manager arrives at Chelsea everything is likely to remain up in the air about Hutchinson’s footballing future. Whoever Chelsea pick as their next head coach could scupper Hutchinson’s plans to leave the club, by giving the Jamaican a shot at grabbing glory in the EPL.
No changes as Brazil confirm final Copa America squad
Dorival Junior has stuck with the same 26-man squad he provisionally selected for Brazil's 2024 Copa America campaign.
Juventus' Bremer, Atalanta midfielder Ederson and Porto forward Pepe were all called up when CONMEBOL announced the squads were being expanded from 23 players to 26.
The Brazilian had already had to make changes after Manchester City's Ederson was ruled out due to an injury sustained at the end of the Premier League season, with Rafael brought in to replace him.
Lucas Paqueta also keeps his place after the Brazilian Football Association (CBF) confirmed he would be allowed to stay with the squad despite being charged by the England Football Association (FA) for allegedly breaching betting rules.
Casemiro, Gabriel Jesus and Thiago Silva had already been left out of the provisional squad announced in May, while Richarlison and Neymar are both missing due to injury.
Brazil are nine-time winners of the Copa America and will begin their campaign against Costa Rica on June 24 before also facing Paraguay and Colombia in Group D.
Final Brazil squad: Alisson (Liverpool), Bento (Atletico PR), Rafael (Sao Paolo), Beraldo (PSG), Bremer (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Gabriel (Arsenal), Marquinhos (PSG), Danilo (Juventus), Yan Couto (Girona), Guilherme Arana (Atletico MG), Wendell (Porto), Andreas Pereira (Fulham), Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Ederson (Atalanta), Joao Gomes (Wolves), Lucas Paqueta (West Ham), Endrick (Palmeiras), Evanilson (Porto), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Pepe (Porto), Raphinha (Barcelona), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Savinho (Girona), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid).
Raphinha hits back after Mbappe's criticism of South American football
Raphinha has responded to Kylian Mbappe's claims that the Euros are harder than the World Cup by reminding the Frenchman who beat them in the 2022 final.
In an interview, Mbappe noted that France had not won the European Championships in 24 years, which is something he will be looking to change this year.
That observation then led to him saying, "The Euros is a difficult competition, more than a World Cup. All the teams know each other, and the style of soccer is similar. Group stages are difficult."
However, Brazil's Raphinha was not happy with the 25-year-old's comparison, pointing out that Argentina prevented them from winning the World Cup in 2022.
"Unfortunately for him and fortunately for us, he lost a World Cup against a South American team," Raphinha said in a press conference ahead of the Copa America.
The Barcelona winger also referenced other comments made by Mbappe from a couple of years ago. The new Real Madrid star implied World Cup qualification was easier in South America than in Europe, and suggested the football "wasn't as advanced".
Raphinha added, "I would like to see the European teams playing in the South American qualifiers on the fields where we play. That's when I'd see if it's easy or hard."
Brazil begin their Copa America campaign against Costa Rica on June 24, while France will face Austria in their Euro 2024 opener on Monday.
Pavlovic signs two-year contract extension with Bayern
Aleksandar Pavlovic has signed a contract extension which will keep him at Bayern Munich until 2029.
Pavlovic's current contract was due to run out in 2027, but the club have chosen to trigger a two-year extension.
The 20-year-old enjoyed an impressive breakout campaign in 2023-24, in which he made 22 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals and providing two assists.
Pavlovic joined Bayern as a seven-year-old and was handed his debut for the first team in November last year when he came off the bench to assist Harry Kane in a 4-0 victory.
His club form earned him a call-up to Germany's squad for Euro 2024, but he was forced to withdraw after coming down with tonsillitis days before the opener against Scotland.
"Unfortunately, this tonsillitis has denied me my dream of playing in the European Championship on home turf, which is very disappointing – but I'm thrilled that my contract with FC Bayern has been extended until 2029," Pavlovic said.
"It shows the club has trust in me, which I'm eager to repay. FC Bayern is my home. I'm proud, happy and grateful, want to win trophies with the team and continue my personal development."
Pavlovic made 19 appearances in the Bundesliga this season, winning 15 of those, with the team scoring 54 goals in the process.
In the 15 games that the midfielder missed in the league, Bayern won just eight times, conceding 14 more goals.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
