Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham is once again setting the Championship alight while on loan at Aston Villa, just as he did two seasons ago with Bristol City.
This is not unexpected. It’s a confirmation of his qualities as a goalscorer.
He scored more goals (6) than any other Championship player in November and with a WhoScored rating of 8.31, @AVFCOfficial star @tammyabraham is our player of the month
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) December 3, 2018
For more player stats -- https://t.co/Su3MR90JtF pic.twitter.com/Yr6MoXSzKN
By proving once again that he is too good for the Championship, talk of a recall to Chelsea has begun. But according to the Birmingham Mail, Villa remain confident that Chelsea will not mess with their season halfway through by recalling their leading goalscorer. Just in case, Villa assistant to the head coach John Terry has spoken with his old club to make sure everyone’s on the same page.
Abraham himself seems to be enjoying his time at the club and has given no indications that he wants to be back at Chelsea. He is enjoying working with Terry as a coach, doing sessions after regular training to improve his heading ability — something that is paying off in dividends for him.
“I have been working with John Terry on heading and it paid off. Hopefully I can keep getting in the right areas to keep scoring.
“It is a bit weird because I still see JT as a player. He is like a big brother to me. On Tuesday after training we spent an hour just working on my heading. It paid off so when I scored I dedicated the celebration to him.
“He has always supported me ever since a young age. The first time I went with the first team at Chelsea he put his arm around me and made me feel welcome and more comfortable. Coming here it is the same and he is still like a big brother. I am going to do another session with him ahead of Saturday.”
“It is nice to have him as the assistant manager. He knows the boys well after playing here last season.”
-Tammy Abraham; source: Birmingham Mail
Still, it’s not an ideal situation. At Aston Villa, Abraham gets to maximize his playing time, which is vital for him at this point of his career, but the opponents he is facing are not challenging enough for his level of play anymore.
So, what will Chelsea do? Given all the factors and relationships involved in the situation, keeping him at Villa seems like the only reasonable choice. Ideally, next season the Premier League will beckon, either with Chelsea or perhaps on loan yet again.