Chelsea have their own Eden Hazard as Hutchinson likened to club icon

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Chelsea staff have privately likened teenage starlet Omari Hutchinson’s playing style to Blues legend Eden Hazard, according to reports. Hutchinson has made an excellent impression since joining from Arsenal in the summer.

The 18-year-old, who will celebrate turning 19 in a few weeks, is understood to be closing in on a place in Graham Potter’s matchday squad. Hutchinson made Arsenal’s bench eight times last season without being handed a debut by Mikel Arteta. 

He joined Chelsea in the summer, having grown concerned by the pathway to the first team. Fellow youngsters Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli had blocked a route to regular football at the Emirates Stadium. 

Upon arriving at Stamford Bridge, Hutchinson was shown clips of his highlights by Chelsea staff. It was put to the left-footed forward that his playing style was the most akin to former Blues attacker Hazard of anyone at the club. 

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That is according to The Athletic, who claim that Hutchinson is close to earning a place on the first team bench in the Premier League. The tricky winger has already trained with his senior colleagues, and has apparently impressed club captain Cesar Azpilicueta and forward Raheem Sterling, in particular. 

Hutchinson scored a remarkable solo goal in Chelsea U21s’ Papa Johns Trophy win over Leyton Orient on Tuesday evening. Manager Mark Robinson praised the player for overcoming the pressure he faced in the aftermath of joining Chelsea in the summer. 

“Omari has been fantastic. When you are a young player and you make that change of club, there is a lot of pressure on you. When he first came in, he probably felt that pressure, the big expectations on him moving from Arsenal and coming across to Chelsea,” former Wimbledon boss and long-term academy chief Robinson told the publication. 

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“I think, in his early performances, there was that pressure. But as time has gone on, you are seeing him relaxing more and more and he is really starting to show the player he is going to be.

“I am really pleased with him. For us as a club, it’s just a case of helping him overcome that expectancy and pressure when things aren’t quite coming off for him. I think we have done that and he will agree we have done that well. We are now starting to see what a talented lad he is.”

Hutchinson – who has debuted for Jamaica but can still switch to England internationally – has scored three times in nine Premier League 2 appearances this season, providing three assists. His goal against Orient helped the club’s professional development side advance to the knockout rounds of the Papa John’s Trophy. 

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