Prolific Chelsea striker pens new deal and heads out on loan

As has been rumored for some time, 19-year-old striker Tammy Abraham has today signed a new five-year deal with Chelsea, while also agreeing to spend the upcoming season on loan at Swansea City, under former Chelsea coach Paul Clement.

Abraham’s new deal was rumored to be worth about £50k per week, putting him well in the uppermost bracket of Chelsea’s wage structure when it comes to young, highly promising players.

The youngster is eager to hit the ground running at his new club, and has cited Swansea’s style of football as part of the attraction of moving to the club, as well as advice from England Under-21 teammate, Alfie Mawson.

“I’m really excited. I enjoyed my time at Bristol City last season, playing regular first-team football and scoring goals. Hopefully I can do the same at Swansea.

“I watched Swansea a lot last season when they played Chelsea and on TV. I know it was a difficult season for them at times, but you could see that they always try and play nice football.

“That was a major factor in me joining Swansea. When teams play good football, it tends to create chances for the striker. Then it’s up to me to get myself in good positions and hopefully score some goals.”

“Alfie (Mawson) is a great lad and told me a hell of a lot about Swansea,’’ he added. “He said it was a good club and a great place to get your head down, work hard and concentrate on your football. He said it would be a great move for my on-going development.’’

- Tammy Abraham; source: Swansea City

Abraham was a regular starter in the England Under-21 side during their European Championship campaign and despite finding the back of the net only once, earned plaudits for his tireless shifts as a lone, often isolated forward. He enjoyed great success at Bristol City in the Championship last season, scoring 26 goals in all competitions and 23 in the Championship itself, breaking the previous record for goals scored by a teenager in England’s second tier by some margin. A loan move to a Premier League side is the logical step to further in his development. Such moves carry a high amount of risk and equally high reward — the vastly differing fortunes of Romelu Lukaku and Patrick Bamford while on loan from Chelsea in the top flight serve as an apt example.

As it stands currently, Abraham will be facing competition for minutes from Fernando Llorente, Borja Bastón and Jordan Ayew, although there’s plenty of doubt about the Swansea futures of the two Spanish strikers. Llorente has been linked with a move to none other than Chelsea while Bastón looks set to join Málaga on loan.

Good luck to Tammy; here’s hoping he has an excellent season ahead and puts himself in a position to earn a place in Chelsea’s first team.