AS Roma agree buy-back with Chelsea but Tammy Abraham still hoping for Arsenal bid — reports

Tammy Abraham has asked for a bit more time to ruminate over the prospect of heading to Serie A and playing for José Mourinho at AS Roma, and all the while apparently still hoping that Arsenal (who would need to jettison one of their strikers first) actually make a concrete approach. His preference remains to stay in the Premier League, while obviously Chelsea’s is that he goes to another league.

That preference has only gotten stronger after a report from the Athletic has claimed that Roma’s €40m agreement also includes a buy-back clause for us, and they would even be willing to make this a normal, straightforward transfer without any loan shenanigans and future obligations involved.

Meanwhile, according to Corriere dello Sport, the Gunners have also initiated contact at long last, with perhaps actual talks set to occur later this week. Mikel Arteta is pushing just as hard for the 23-year-old’s signature as Mourinho, and Arsenal are also said to be offering a higher salary than Roma, which of course could just be a negotiating tactic from Tammy’s camp. Either way, as Gazzetta dello Sport reports, Roma aren’t going to wait around too long and will look at other options if the impasse continues for too long.