Ipswich Town have started negotiations with Chelsea around signing brilliant young attacker Omari Hutchinson, the EADT and Ipswich Star understands.

The 20-year-old spent last season on loan at Portman Road and flourished in what was his first full campaign in men's football, scoring 10 goals and providing five assists in 44 appearances.

Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano broke the news last night, stating that German clubs were keen on signing him, but that Kieran McKenna's decision to stay in Suffolk is 'a key factor'.

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A subsequent post from him on X (formerly Twitter) claimed that Chelsea don't have a buy-back clause, which we understand to be true - although reports of a fee in the region of £22-£25 million are exaggerated.

The Blues' ceiling is thought to be £20 million, but the club are hoping to conclude a deal for less than that.

Nonetheless, any deal to bring the versatile attacker back to Ipswich would shatter their current transfer record, which remains the £4.75 million paid to Sampdoria for goalkeeper Matteo Sereni in August 2001.

Back in May, CEO Mark Ashton revealed that the club would 'love' to have Hutchinson back after securing promotion to the Premier League, but that talks could take a while to progress.

Town are yet to complete their first signing of the summer, although they have been in advanced talks with West Ham right-back Ben Johnson, who looks set to turn down a new contract at the London Stadium to join the Blues on a free transfer.

Chelsea, on the other hand, have signed Fulham centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo, with a handful of players linked with exits from Stamford Bridge ahead of the Financial Fair Play (FFP) deadline on June 30th.

A report from Football.London claims that they could 'face losing millions' if found guilty of breaching the regulations.