Ipswich Town: Omari Hutchinson on Kieran McKenna and Liam Delap

“It’s been quite easy, to be honest,” he argued. “Obviously we got the draw against Man United, so we’ve been back in and training very hard, recovering ahead of the next game.”

On a personal level, it must’ve been hard for him to do that. The 21-year-old bagged a crucial equaliser in last weekend’s draw against the Red Devils, curling a stunning effort into the top corner from outside the penalty area. It was a huge milestone in his fledgling career.

“I definitely had time to reflect after the game, when I saw my family in the lounge,” he recalled.

“I have a few Man United supporters in my family – they couldn’t believe it!

“You look on social media and you get a little buzz off it, but you have to lock back in, concentrate on the next game and recover as quickly as you can.

“I just went back in the changing room [after the match], high-fived everyone, said well done. The manager spoke to us, gave us a debrief, then you see the messages on your phone – but I had to do a lot of interviews. I didn’t even get to go on my phone.

“I started doing interviews and saw my family in the lounge. I didn’t even check my phone until after that.”

Hutchinson scored his first top-flight goal in Ipswich's 1-1 draw against Man United (Image: Ross Halls)

This moment in the spotlight has been a long time coming. Hutchinson’s career has taken him to two elite academies, where he failed to break into the first team picture. Dropping down to Ipswich – who’d only just secured promotion from League One when he first joined on loan from Chelsea – proved to be a fantastic decision.

“There have been lot of ups and downs in my career so far,” he admitted. “A lot of setbacks, but I’ve overcome them.

“All I do is work as much as I can with my brothers and my dad outside of football. I’ve got that strong mentality to keep going and I got through it.

“That’s why it got me to where I am today.”

The attacker now has the spotlight on him, which he clearly enjoys. However, in the same way that Town have been focused on blocking out negative noise, he knows that he has to do the same when he’s flooded with praise and compliments.

“All you can control is the people in the building,” he explained. “There’s always going to be noise if you’re doing well or if you’re not.

“As long as we’re doing the right things – staying humble, working hard and taking every game as it comes, and we’re trying to win games – that’s all we can do, really.”

As Ipswich’s record signing, it’d be easy for him to let his price tag go to his head, but that certainly isn’t going to happen.

The attacker is still Town's record signing (Image: Ross Halls)

“To be honest, I forgot I was even the record signing,” he chuckled. “I feel like I’m still on loan! I kind of forgot about that.

“It doesn’t really faze me or get to me. Everyone treats me like a normal boy that came through the academy, nobody treats me differently.

“It’s not something that fusses me.”

The fact that Ipswich were willing to pay almost £20 million up front to secure his services over the summer shows how highly they rated Hutchinson, but it was never guaranteed that he’d return to Suffolk soil.

His future turned into a long-running transfer saga, with Town clearly keen to bring him back amid interest from elsewhere – including Champions League outfit Stuttgart, having reportedly visited the Bundesliga side to watch a match at the back end of last season after the Blues had secured promotion.

In the end, he felt that a return to Ipswich was the best move for him, and he’s delighted with how things have turned out back at Portman Road.

“I spoke to Kieran in the summer,” he said. “It was a no-brainer to come here. He’s a coach that knows me very well from last season and I knew I was going to play in the Premier League, which is very rare.

“I saw that it’s easier to win the lottery than becoming a professional footballer in the Premier League.”

That bond with McKenna has obviously been key, and it played a big part in Hutchinson’s decision to leave Chelsea for Ipswich.

“I feel like he’s got a great understanding of me,” he stated. “Tactically, he’s a genius. He knows which games it’s right to play me out wide and when to play me down the middle. He’s got a great understanding of that.”

Hutchinson hailed manager Kieran McKenna as a 'genius' (Image: PA)

Pressed on his best position in the starting lineup, he added: “I think it’s very important as an attacker to be able to play in whatever position the manager puts you in. For me, I like playing anywhere. Wherever the gaffer puts me, I’ll try my best.

“Whether it’s left wing, right, up front, no.10. I find it enjoyable.

“Playing right wing, it’s an enjoyable role to play at times, and no.10 as well. It depends on the game.

“If a team are sat back, you want to play out wide so you can get the ball, get crosses in, and shots. If there are spaces in the middle, you want to get the ball in the middle and just drive at the defence.

“There might be a game, like the Tottenham game, where I’m dribbling down the middle and I got a lot of space and time. There might be a time where we’re dominating the game, the opponent is sat off and I’m able to get the ball out wide.

“It just depends.”

While the pre-existing relationship with McKenna has helped, he’s had to form a new one with fellow England Under-21 international Liam Delap, who signed for Ipswich over the summer and has hit the ground running with six goals in 12 games.

The pair have already made big leaps in developing their partnership, and Hutchinson is adamant that there’s more to come.

“We’re getting closer and better as well,” he argued. “At the start of the season, I didn’t know how he played and he didn’t know how I played. We’ve been training very well together. We’re gaining that chemistry and building that bond that you need as a striker and a no.10.

The 21-year-old provided an assist for Liam Delap in the Blues' 2-2 draw against Aston Villa back in September (Image: PA)

“I think it’s getting there.”

For Hutchinson, his role isn’t just about setting up Delap or anyone else in the squad. In the last few weeks, he’s shown how good he can be defensively, dropping deep and managing the game in crucial moments. In fact, he believes it’s an area of his game that many people haven’t noticed.

“Since the start of the season, my role has been the same, but I’ve been doing a lot of off-the-ball work that people probably don’t recognise,” he revealed. “I’m covering a lot of distance.

“I might not get the goals and assists, but as long as I’m doing the off-the-ball and on-the-ball stuff – creating for Liam and my wingers to get the goals or assists – that’s okay for me.”

Off the pitch, his family have been crucial. His father acts as his agent and often speaks to the club on his behalf, but everyone rallies around him to make sure that he’s the best version of himself that he possibly can be.

“I think it’s very important to have family that supports you and looks out for you but doesn’t get in the way of things,” he explained. “Especially for a young player coming up, I feel like you need that support from your family.

“I get like 10 plus people per game coming to my matches. It’s a lot. I’m just grateful for it.”

It’s always been something that’s important to Hutchinson, who quickly gained international attention for his freestyle skills that gained recognition from Pele at an U12s tournament at Brentford during his time at Arsenal.

The legendary Brazilian was obviously well before his time, but his grandmother saw similarities between the two of them when he was growing up, which he remembers fondly.

“My grandma used to say that I’d be like Pele when I’m older,” he said with a beaming smile on his face. “She gave me a lot of books, cards and stuff like that.

“Obviously I didn’t get to watch him play, but it’s from my grandma, really.”