After a stellar 26-goal campaign culminating in Aston Villa’s promotion to the Premier League, it’s far from surprising to see Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham linked with a permanent transfer to the newly-promoted side.
Abraham, 21, played a vital role for Dean Smith’s side in their route to Wembley, becoming the first Villa player since Andy Gray to score over 20 league goals in a season.
The striker has now had two seasons of successful Championship football, building on his 23 goals on loan Bristol City in the 2016/17 season, and the Chelsea loanee has expressed a desire for regular minutes in the top-flight of English football.
Following their promotion courtesy of a 2-1 play-off final victory over Derby County, Villa are now able to offer exactly that, but Abraham has stressed that starting games is high on his list of priorities for the 2019/2020 campaign.
“Every player wants to start,” said Abraham. “Obviously if it is at Chelsea a team like Chelsea is always difficult because they have got world-class players. It is always going to be difficult to bring in youngsters and bring in people like myself. It is a big role.
“But for me it is about believing in myself and to just keep doing what I do. I am still young and I am still improving. The aim is to be at the highest level and playing the best football and, if Chelsea say they need me there, I will put 100% in.
“I am a person who believes in myself. So, wherever I am at, I believe I will get in and play and score goals.” Asked if he could return to Villa next season, the 21-year-old replied: “You can never say never.”
For Abraham, it has been a meteoric rise on the stage of club-football, with the youngster’s only sub-par season coming at Swansea City in the 2017/18 campaign; where the Swans were relegated and Abraham scored just five goals in 31 appearances.
Such a slump could be attributed to Swansea’s poor team performance in the campaign coupled with considerable managerial upheaval, yet with a firmer foundation at Villa in the form of midfield trident Jack Grealish, John McGinn and Conor Hourihane, Abraham could thrive in the Premier League if Villa are able to seal the deal this summer.
The situation is complicated owing to Chelsea’s two-year transfer ban from FIFA, but with the likes of Gonzalo Higuain and Christian Pulisic signed in the last six months, Abraham may get the chance to seal a permanent transfer to Villa and continue the remarkable start he has made to his time with Smith’s side in B6.
