Omari Hutchinson's Ipswich Town form could present Chelsea redemption opportunity for Todd Boehly: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Omari Hutchinson has been one of Ipswich Town's many superb players so far this season after joining from Chelsea in the summer - and his rise could be a huge reason as to why Todd Boehly could be kicking himself.

Always billed as one of Arsenal's brightest young prospects, the winger made the move to Chelsea in 2022 from London Colney though he was only used sparingly last season.

The Tractor Boys made a move for him this summer, and it's seen the star finally expand his development.

But whilst it's good for Hutchinson, Boehly could well be kicking himself and going through a real eye-opening as to how he has operated at Stamford Bridge.

It is one of the worst kept secrets in football that Chelsea have become the biggest spenders in the world under American owner Todd Boehly, though their financial prowess hasn't been felt on the pitch with the west London outfit currently sat in eleventh place, 17 points adrift of Champions League football and a staggering 25 off the top of the table.

Amortisation is a phrase we've seen associated with Chelsea throughout Boehly's tenure, with the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk, Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Nicolas Jackson all on deals that end in 2031 - with their contracts essentially being long-term in order to bring down the costs with an eye on Financial Fair Play rules.

However, quite an unspoken facet of Boehly's inventiveness is the signing of young talents from abroad.

Starlets such as Djordje Petrovic, Lesley Ugochukwu, Deivid Washington and Diego Moreira have all been signed from abroad to little success; with Petrovic being the only player who has relatively impressed for the Blues thus far.

Signing talents from abroad always costs big money down the line, and if they don't work, there's always the risk run of talents in the academy gaining less playing time as a result. Hutchinson has been a victim of that, and he was subsequently loaned to Ipswich as a result.

Hutchinson has always been a superb player at youth level but this was his first foray into first-team football.

Just two appearances at Chelsea meant he was never going to be fully in the starting picture under Mauricio Pochettino, but Kieran McKenna took a chance.

It's been an insanely productive few months for the 20-year-old. 28 league games saw him notch 2 goals and 3 assists, but Hutchinson has really found his feet recently and following his strike against West Brom in early February, he's tallied up five goals and three assists in just nine games.

Other Chelsea stars who have made their name in the EFL

Alongside Hutchinson, a whole crop of Chelsea players have made their names in the second-tier and below in the past decade - some of whom are still one of the first-names on the teamsheet at Stamford Bridge, and others who are national team heroes in the Premier League and abroad.

The first names that spring to mind are former loanees of the EFL in Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham and Reece James. The quartet won the Champions League with the Blues, but it was their spells at Derby (both Mount and Tomori under Frank Lampard), Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic respectively that gave them all a huge helping hand in terms of their development before going on to feature regularly at top-flight level.

Elsewhere in the current squad, Trevoh Chalobah, Conor Gallagher, Levi Colwill and Robert Sanchez - signed from Brighton but with experience at Forest Green Rovers and Rochdale whilst on the books at the Seagulls - have all ventured into the EFL on loan spells in which they have proven fruitful.