Since joining in 2004 as an under-8 player, striker Tammy Abraham has been scoring goals for fun at all levels of the Chelsea Academy. We really took notice of him in 2014-15, when he and, at the time, more heralded teammate Dominic Solanke both scored 41 goals in all competitions for the youth teams. While Solanke’s progress seems to have stalled a bit, Abraham has gone from strength to strength.
Abraham made his Chelsea debut last season, coming on as a substitute in our last two Premier League matches of the year against Liverpool and Leicester City. The youngster was then sent on loan to Championship side Bristol City this summer, and has now taken to impressing a nation-wide audience.
Having already scored 11 goals in 16 games in all competitions for Bristol City, he’s hoping that soon he will get to be doing so in Chelsea colors — especially after seeing Nathaniel Chalobah’s rise to semi-prominence over the last few games under Antonio Conte.
"I think with the new manager coming in the chances are there because we can see he's been playing youngsters. It's a case of when you get the opportunity you have to impress and give your all. Everyone has their time and hopefully my time will come soon."
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"Obviously we get back to each other and say congrats to each other. [Chalobah] is doing well for himself and is a good example for the Chelsea youngsters."
"We always chat to each other after matches and find out how we're doing. We keep in contact and the [Chelsea] coaches get back to us and inform us of little things. They make you feel involved even though you're away."
In more immediate concerns, Abraham has set himself a couple ambitious goals, both in terms of personal achievement (“30 plus goals”) and team goals (“play-offs”).
"The way I'm going I've set myself a target of 30 plus goals this season. We know in the Championship any team can beat any team but all the players I'm playing with are fantastic and we're aiming for the play-offs."
"[The Championship] is a different challenge, I knew what to expect coming across players older than me and stronger than me. You have to adapt the way you play and adapt your game [from youth football]."
"But I've found it to be a good challenge, it's about making the right movements and just finding a different way of beating my opponents if I can't outpace them or out-strength them."
-Tammy Abraham; source: Sky Sports
It's been a great year for Abraham so far, but it won’t be smooth sailing the whole season. How he handles the hype and how he reacts to any potential bumps along the road will go a long way towards setting the course for the next stage of his career.