Tammy Abraham does not regret leaving Chelsea in the summer of 2021 and is in no rush to return to the Premier League. The 24-year-old signed for AS Roma in August 2021 for around £36million and excelled in his first season in Italy.
During the 2021/22 campaign, Abraham netted 17 goals and provided four assists in his 37 appearances in the Serie A. The England international was a key component in Jose Mourinho's side – but the former Chelsea boss refused to praise him earlier this year because he knows his potential is even greater.
Mourinho said: "Tammy knows, I refuse to speak highly of him. Because he can do better and he knows that! He is a great player with a potential to be even greater."
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Abraham has got a very high potential and that's why some Chelsea supporters were bemused when he was allowed to leave Stamford Bridge on a permanent deal last summer. For whatever reason, he didn't seem to click in Thomas Tuchel's side and the German was more than happy to let the striker leave the club for £36m.
Whenever an English player goes abroad, there is always speculation over a return to England. This is also the case for Abraham, who has been constantly linked with a return to the Premier League since moving to Rome.
Some reports claim Chelsea have an €80m (£67.1m) buyback clause in Abraham's contract that becomes active in the summer of 2023. However, the England striker is "not in a hurry" to make a decision over his future.
"I am not thinking about the future, but about the present," the Roma striker said to Corriere dello Sport, via TuttoMercatoWeb. "I am not in a hurry to return to the Premier League. In Italy, I am happy in every respect."
Then, Abraham was asked whether he has any regret in his mind over leaving Chelsea. He said: "No, not even for a second. Choosing Roma was one of the most right decisions ever made."
In an interview with Alan Shearer in The Athletic in April of this year, Abraham admitted the end of his time at Chelsea was a "low point" in his career. Under Tuchel, the striker had not started a game since February 2021 up until when he left and he was also left out of the squad for both the FA Cup and Champions League final.
"I was the [joint] highest scorer in the FA Cup [with four goals] and to be told I wasn't in the squad for the final, you can only imagine how I felt," Abraham said. "It wasn't a nice feeling, but I was there to support the boys. I would always do that – good times and bad times – and the same with the Champions League. I just wanted my team to do well and win."
He added: "I'll admit it was a very low point in my career. It did mess with me mentally for a bit. It got to a point towards the back end of the season where I was stropping, I was annoyed, because I'm working hard in training and I wasn't getting any chances.
"I was doing the best I could, getting in early and finishing late, training drills, finishing drills, and still wasn't getting a look in. I could understand if I wasn't in great form or wasn't training well or had a bad attitude.
"I just didn't understand. I was working so hard. I was having players coming up to me saying: 'You were unbelievable today in training'. That was the hardest part."
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