Graham Potter, the manager of Chelsea F.C., praised Omari Hutchinson after his team’s friendly match against Aston Villa.
Chelsea online news:
Hutchinson, a talented teenager, joined the Blues from Arsenal F.C. over the summer as the club made a push to sign young players when Thomas Tuchel, the former manager, was still in charge. They also spent a lot of money on Cesare Casadei from Inter Milan and Carney Chukwuemeka from Villa.
Prior to the World Cup break, Hutchinson scored five goals for Chelsea’s under-21 team in Premier League 2 while sitting on the bench for three games involving the first team. However, the youngster previously compared to Eden Hazard has had a chance to impress the manager after
traveling with the senior team for their midseason training in Abu Dhabi.
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“It was a good game, [a] good performance from a young team playing against a really experienced Premier League side, so we’ve had a fantastic week, actually,” Potter said after the 1-0 defeat. Youngsters including Bashir Humphreys and Charlie Webster joined Hutchinson in the Blues side, but Villa and Scotland midfielder John McGinn scored the only goal of the game in the friendly.
Potter continued: “[It is] Good to work with the boys that are here. Lads that have been injured have had a bit more time training and they’ve stepped their rehab on, so that’s good. They’re getting closer and it’s been really, really positive to work in these conditions and we’re happy with the week.” The Chelsea boss confirmed Reece James, Wesley Fofana and Chukwuemeka are making progress on their way back to full fitness.
Regarding Hutchinson, Potter stated: “He was really good, dangerous and asked a question all the time. Throughout the game, he showed his quality but he wasn’t the only one. It was a spirited performance with a lot of young players so it was good.”
Hutchinson was listed as a substitute for Chelsea in three of their most recent four contests. As Potter’s team lost each of the three games, he sat on the bench for the league games against Brighton and Newcastle as well as the EFL Cup match with Manchester City.
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Chelsea has a two-week wait before their next competitive match following their cup exit. On December 27, they play host to Bournemouth in the Premier League, and on January 1st, they travel to Nottingham Forest.
“We’ve got a full week’s training when we get back and then we have a friendly the following week, so that will be good,” Potter said after the Villa game. “There’s a few more guys coming back from the World Cup, so it’s moving nicely.”
Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling, and Conor Gallagher, three members of the England team, were among the Chelsea players that were knocked out of the World Cup in the quarterfinals. However, the Blues still have two players left in the competition: Mateo Kovacic of Croatia and Hakim Ziyech of Morocco, who will participate in the semi-final matches against Argentina and France, respectively, this coming week.
