Ipswich Town: McKenna on Omari Hutchinson move to Nottingham Forest

Hutchinson joined the Blues for a club record £18m + add-ons fee from Chelsea last summer and became a key figure in the attack.

However, following Town's relegation from the Premier League, the England Under-21 international pushed for a move following rejected bid from Brentford and Nottingham Forest.

The 21-year-old didn't travel to Auxerre for the team' final warm-up game as he 'wasn't in the right head space', missed the Championship opener at Birmingham with a throat infection and then made himself unavailable for Tuesday night's Carabao Cup defeat at Bromley.

"I think things are progressing along, though nothing is confirmed yet," said McKenna, when asked if Hutchinson's club record sale to Forest was close. "Deals are never done until they're done, but it certainly looks to be heading in that direction."

Asked if Hutchinson had let him and his team-mates down by not making himself available to play in recent weeks, the Blues boss replied: "Look, I think, as I've said, the situations are always more nuanced than what is apparent on the outside. I've spoken about it a few times. Of course, as a manager, you have to speak sort of carefully sometimes because you're trying to protect the interests of the club.

"Omari is a player who's had a fantastic experience here. The club's been fantastic for him. He's been fantastic for the club. His desire was to move on to the Premier League if that opportunity arose, while we felt like there was a really good football project for him here. I fully understand the player's position on that and the counter-argument.

"Omari is a young player. There is a lot of advice that young players can get from outside in terms of how they should behave or conduct themselves in certain situations. I do think the situation could have been handled differently.

"I think it's a shame that it wasn't because he's a player who has had a really special connection here with his team-mates, with the staff, with the supporters. But in the end, it wasn't.

"He's, of course, on the verge of making that transfer. It's a fantastic transfer fee for the club. In terms of bringing players in, developing them and improving them, I think him, Liam (Delap), probably across market value, taking any contract clauses out, you're probably talking about maybe £100 million of players in two players that were developed here last year. So I think that's a big positive for the club.

"It's a shame, I think, the way the last bit of the situation has played out. There's other stuff that people won't be aware of that stays in-house.

"But look, Omari has been here and he's trained. He didn't fake illness at any time. I can say that clearly. He had a throat infection that made him unavailable for the Birmingham game. That was 100% genuine.

"My belief is that when you're under the contract you should be available for every game. And I think there was a pre-season friendly and the cup game the other night that he didn't make himself available for. My opinion is that you should make yourself available for every game for the time that you're under contract at the club. That wasn't the case.

"But again, that seemed to be more and more prevalent in modern football. I think players get advised to sort of go down that path, which in this situation I don't think was necessary because it's a player with a special connection with the club. It's a club with a lot of integrity who, if the right situation was there for the club and for the player, would want to act in the right way anyway.

"So if the deal goes through, which is still an if, I think I certainly will want him to go on and do well there. I know people will be disappointed by the exit, but he's been part of a really special time for the club, a really special team for the club. He's developed a lot here and I hope he'll go on to do good things.

"We're all a little bit disappointed by how the last bit's been played out, but he's a player that I think I've had a really good time with and will keep in contact with. And if he moves on from here, we'll wish him well in his career."

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