What went wrong for Tammy Abraham at Chelsea?

With prolific Championship loan spells, 42 goal involvements in 82 appearances for Chelsea, a Champions League trophy and a Super Cup, Tammy Abraham has made the permanent move to AS Roma for €40m (£34m) plus €5m add ons. The 23 year old signs for Roma until June 2026 with a €4/5m salary per season whilst Chelsea have left the door ajar for a return in the future having included a €80m buy-back clause in the deal, valid from June 2023. But after working his way through to the Chelsea starting lineup, where did this move come from?

Having been in Chelsea's youth system since 2004, Abraham made his first loan move to Bristol City of the Championship for the 2016/17 campaign, scoring 23 goals in 41 appearances, raising some eyebrows around the Championship. His prolific time at Bristol City earned Abraham a loan move to Swansea City in 2017 for a first taste of Premier League football. However, 5 goals in 31 appearances and a relegation showed that this step up may have been just too soon. The following season Abraham earned a move back to the Championship on loan to show his talents at Aston Villa, hitting the back of the net 25 times in 37 appearances. This helped Villa reach promotion to the Premier League, impressing his soon to be manager of Chelsea, Frank Lampard.

Tammy Abraham's time at Aston Villa earned him a place in the Chelsea squad for the 2019/20 season under Frank Lampard where Abraham scored 15 Premier League goals, the highest goalscorer in the Chelsea team that season. Abraham's expected goals (xG) of 14.1 was up there with the likes of Sergio Aguero (14), Harry Kane (10.5), Jamie Vardy (20.3) and Alexandre Lacazette (8.5) showcasing that he had the correct ingredients to be a Premier League striker.

After a promising season with Chelsea under Lampard, a change in management saw Thomas Tuchel take the helm and Abraham's starts were cut down to 12 for the 2020/21 Premier League season. Tuchel admitted that he 'didn't trust' the player 'as much as others' during the season. 6 goals and an xG of 6.4 saw a lack of development for Tammy Abraham and though Tuchel stated that it was down to Abraham whether he wanted to stay and fight for his place at Stamford Bridge, the return of club record signing Romelu Lukaku at £97.5m appears to have made Tammy Abraham's decision very easy as he has completed the move to join former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho at AS Roma in hopes to propel his career again.

Although Tammy Abraham's career took a dramatic turn, fans have taken to social media to express their opinion about the move away from Chelsea...