:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63261937/1134907212.jpg.0.jpg)
Tammy Abraham began the season as Chelsea’s third-choice striker behind Álvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud, but in the few weeks between the end of the summer transfer window in early August and the end of the summer loan-transfer window at the end of August, he had a change of heart. Chelsea were set to play a single-striker system, and as a then 20-year-old striker, Abraham, probably not unreasonably, saw the writing on the wall.
The biggest problem with that decision to leave on loan was that Abraham chose a challenge that he had already mastered two seasons prior, when he scored 23 goals in 41 Championship games for Bristol City, winning their Player of the Season as a teenager. Unsurprisingly, he’s on pace to break that this season, currently sitting on 21 goals (33 games) for Aston Villa.
So what’s next? Having now twice proven himself in the second division, sandwiching a disappointing top flight season on loan at relegation-bound Swansea City (5 league goals in 31), Abraham is surely in need for a bigger challenge.
And what bigger challenge could there be than getting a Chelsea academy graduate through to the first-team? It’s important to aim high!
“That’s the aim going into next season. As a young kid, I’ve always believed I will play for Chelsea. I always believe that. I think I have the ability to. I just have to, when I get the opportunity, grab it with two hands.”
-Tammy Abraham; source: Sky
Familiar words we’ve heard from many a loanee, though Abraham could he helped out by a couple extraneous factors. At the time of this writing, neither Gonzalo Higuaín nor Olivier Giroud are under contract for next season, and if the transfer ban isn’t lifted, Higuaín definitely won’t be — and he shouldn’t be in any case, seeing how little he’s improved the team since replacing the equally disappointing Morata in January. Giroud may yet be offered a new contract as a solid veteran contributor, but there’s a decent chance Chelsea end up with a center forward trio of Giroud, Abraham, and Michy Batshuayi. That should give Tammy plenty of opportunities to grab with both hands.