Omari Hutchinson left Nottingham Forest in the summer and earned a big move to AC Milan. After a slow start, things are now on track.
The Englishman came in as a replacement for Rafael Leao, as the Portuguese attacker sealed a late move to Turkey. Hutchinson was clearly stepping into big shoes and had to undergo an initial period of adaptation to get some minutes.
Sport Witness tracked comments from the attacker about how Ruben Amorim was key to the move to Italy. The Portuguese coacg had seen him closely from his time in England, as Hutchinson had scored in his opening game as Manchester United manager.
The attacker started for Milan against Salzburg in the Europa League and positive signs came through.
Player prominence growing
Hutchinson was one of the best players in the 4-0 win, as Alpha Cisse got a historic hattrick too.
The arrival from Nottingham Forest spoke to Sky Sport, making it clear that he is pleased about the performance.
He said – via MilanNews24: “We had that hunger, we wanted to win the ball and score. For me, it was another step forward. I’m really happy with my performance and I just want to keep it up, maintaining this level.”
The 22-year-old played in a wing-back role and was asked about this switch.
He replied: “For me, it always depends on the game: sometimes you get a lot of touches in the centre, sometimes you receive the ball wide on the flank. To be honest, I really like playing wide, but honestly, I just want to stay on the pitch, wherever I get to play.”
He also appeared pleased to have played the full 90 minutes for the first time.
Hutchinson told Milan TV – via MilanNews: “I was just really hungry to play today, and it had been a long time since I played the full ninety minutes. I had a lot of fun, I think many of the guys did, and I want to continue on this path and maintain this form.”
Our take: Amorim taking it slow
Amorim is yet to use Hutchinson regularly in Serie A but has used the Europa League to get him used to his system. This suggests he has a plan for the Nottingham Forest loanee.
Besides, the wing-back role is quite new for Hutchinson, who has always played further forward.
Amorim clearly trusts him and things are moving in the right direction. Nottingham Forest should be keeping a close eye on this, hoping Milan exercise their option to buy him permanently.
