Nottingham Forest are in the process of agreeing a £37.5m fee with Ipswich Town for Omari Hutchinson.
The club-to-club talks have reached an advanced stage after Forest’s opening bid worth £35million was rejected but dialogue continued. Personal terms for Hutchinson are no issue.
Forest and the 21-year-old attacking midfielder still both have other options, so the situation is not closed — but a deal is now ready to be done, subject to final decisions.
If it goes through, the move would eclipse Forest’s previous transfer record — the £35m capture of Dan Ndoye from Bologna last month.
As reported by The Athletic on Thursday, Forest are also in talks over a deal for Rennes forward Arnaud Kalimuendo worth around £26m, as they continue to prepare for a first season in Europe for 30 years, while they are close to securing a deal for Manchester City midfielder James McAtee.
Hutchinson made 32 appearances, recording three goals and two assists, in all competitions last season as Ipswich finished 19th in the Premier League and were relegated to the second tier. Hutchinson spent time in Chelsea’s academy before coming through Arsenal’s youth system. He rejoined Chelsea in 2022 but only made two appearances for the first team.
The winger was loaned to Ipswich for the 2023-24 season and featured in 50 games in all competitions that season, starting 25, helping Ipswich earn promotion to the top flight for the first time in 22 years. He then joined the club permanently last summer as their record signing, in a deal worth up to £22.5m.
Hutchinson has represented England at under-21 level and was part of the team that won the Under-21 European Championship in June this year. He has also featured twice at senior level for Jamaica, making his debut in March 2023 as a 19-year-old.
As well as Ndoye, defender Jair Cunha has joined Forest from Botafogo, while goalkeeper Angus Gunn signed as a free agent as back-up for Golden Glove winner Matz Sels.
Fulham winger Adama Traore and USMNT midfielder Yunus Musah are also players Forest hold an interest in, with talks having been held with AC Milan over a potential deal for the latter.
Analysis
By Nottingham Forest correspondent Paul Taylor
Forest have already broken their transfer record once in recent weeks with the £35million capture of Dan Ndoye from Bologna.
The fact they are willing to do so again to land another young player with significant potential is a sign of the club’s determination to arm Nuno Espirito Santo with a competitive squad ahead of what could be a huge campaign for the club.
Forest are also pushing hard to complete the signing of McAtee and Kalimuendo, with hopes that the Englishman in particular should sign before Forest face Brentford in their opening Premier League game on Sunday.
Forest have given themselves some PSR wriggle room with the £52m sale of Anthony Elanga to Newcastle United this summer. But the club know that they need to add strength in depth as they prepare for a return to European football after three decades without it.
It was confirmed on Monday that Forest will complete in the Europa League and the pursuit of players like Hutchinson — a young forward with Premier League experience with the potential to see both his stock and his value rise at the City Ground — would fit perfectly into the club’s blueprint.
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