Transfer Centre

Chelsea 'had considered Tammy Abraham reunion before injury'

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 14 June 2023

Chelsea 'had considered Abraham reunion before injury'

Chelsea allegedly gave consideration to a reunion with Tammy Abraham before the Roma forward suffered a serious knee injury on the final weekend of the season.

Chelsea were reportedly contemplating whether to sign Tammy Abraham before the Roma forward's recent injury.

In 2021, the Blues gave the green light for one of their academy graduates to make the switch to Stadio Olimpico after he fell out of favour with Thomas Tuchel.

At the time, Chelsea generated in the region of £34m for his signature, with a buy-back clause for double the fee being included in the proposal.

Abraham has been a success in the Italian capital, contributing 36 goals and 12 assists across two seasons and helping Roma win last year's Europa Conference League.

However, having failed to replicate the heights of his 2021-22 efforts, Abraham was expected to be made available for transfer this summer with Roma obligated to boost their FFP position.

Roma's Tammy Abraham receives medical attention after sustaining an injury on February 19, 2023 © Reuters

That will no longer be the case, though, with the England international suffering a serious knee injury on the final weekend of the campaign, subsequently ruling him out until the end of the year.

Teams such as Aston Villa and Everton will now be forced to look elsewhere, while Roma are seemingly likely to bring in West Ham United forward Gianluca Scamacca on a season-long loan deal.

Nevertheless, according to The Athletic, the aforementioned clubs were not the only teams impacted by Abraham's injury with Chelsea having been interested in a reunion.

The West Londoners are known to be in the market for a new centre-forward having struggled for goals last season, resulting in a 12th-placed finish in the Premier League.

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) coach Mauricio Pochettino on March 20, 2022 © Reuters

Napoli's Victor Osimhen and Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic have each been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge, yet either of those additions would leave Chelsea needing to spend either £100m-plus or £70m respectively.

Abraham was going to be available for at least half the price, potentially a very similar fee to what Chelsea recouped for his signature two years ago.

During his first spell with Chelsea, Abraham chipped in with 30 goals and 12 assists from 82 appearances, scoring 15 goals in the top flight after Frank Lampard's appointment ahead of 2019-20 before dropping down the pecking order under Tuchel.

The expectation now is that the 25-year-old will remain at Roma throughout next season, initially needing to recover and then prove his fitness before entering the final two years of his contract next summer.