Tammy Abraham's decision to join Roma last summer continues to look like a masterstroke from the young striker.
And it is a move that has also seen him prove Manchester United legend Gary Neville wrong, earning admiring looks from Arsenal in the process. Abraham had been unable to convince Thomas Tuchel he was the future of Chelsea's forward line, opting to join Roma in search of playing time.
He immediately became Jose Mourinho 's leading frontman, starring for the Serie A side in his first season in Italy. The 24-year-old has scored 24 goals in all competitions this season, helping Roma to reach the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League.
That strike tally is a new record for a player in their debut campaign at the Stadio Olimpico, with Abraham one of the deadliest strikers in the Italian top-flight. That return has also seen him prove Neville wrong in some style.
The former United captain had questioned Abraham's ability in front of goal during his final campaign at Stamford Bridge. The pundit went as far as to brand him a player in the mould of Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino, who is renowned for not having a high scoring return.
“He’s got to get 12-15 goals. He’s not going to 25 goals, but the pressure will come on him when people say ‘ Chelsea need a goalscorer’. I know they’ve got Werner who will score from wide areas, but when the centre-forward isn’t scoring 15 goals, 20 goals a season, he’ll come under pressure," Neville told Sky Sports in December 2020.
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“He’s got to get those goals early in the season. I think there’s a massive relief there on his face when doing that interview. I mean he could be the Firmino. You see Firmino at Liverpool who does sometimes get questioned a little bit for not getting enough goals.
“But I don’t think from anyone who knows football questions him and what he brings then the other two get more plaudits and score goals. But he does a lot of work for the team that obviously supports that.
“I just think at Chelsea he will get put under pressure - a young striker, English centre-forward. He just needs to keep scoring goals just to keep people away from him and make sure those clouds don’t build.”
Abraham's efforts in proving Neville wrong and emerging as a fearsome goalscorer has also attracted Arsenal. The Gunners will be searching for a new striker in the summer transfer window and attempted to sign Abraham last year, before seeing him join Roma.
But The Times report that Mikel Arteta is set to return again for the former Chelsea star, given how he has performed in the Italian capital. Such a move would likely cost a fee in the region of £65million, with Abraham still having more than four years to run on his contract.
But having shown Neville's analysis was wide of the mark, such a high fee appears to be a fair one. And if Arsenal did firm up their interest in the Roma star, they would certainly be reaping the rewards from his decision to pack up and go in search of a fresh start away from Chelsea.
