Pat Nevin has tipped Tammy Abraham to become the next Didier Drogba following his successful transition from the Premier League to Serie A. And Nevin is confident the Roma striker will eventually return to English football as a better, well-rounded player.
The 24-year-old earned an England recall for this week’s games against Switzerland and the Ivory Coast on the back of a stunning season thus far for Roma. Abraham scored his 23rd goal of the season during the derby win over Lazio on Sunday, making him the highest scorer in a debut season for the Serie A side since the legendary duo of Gabriel Batistuta and Vincenzo Montella.
Abraham reportedly turned down a move to Arsenal last summer in order to link-up with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho in the Italian capital for a fee in the region of €40m (£34m), with his opportunities under current Blues manager Thomas Tuchel limited. However, swapping Stamford Bridge for the Stadio Olimpico turned out to be an inspired move, one which has reinvigorated his career.
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Nevin believes adding more of a physical edge to his style of play has enabled Abraham to take his game to the next level. The former Chelsea winger also claimed that he is the heir apparent to Blues legend Drogba.
“This experience in Italy could really turn Tammy into the next Didier Drogba," he told BBC Radio Five Live. “The one thing I think that Tammy needed to work on when he left English football in the summer to go to Italy was his physicality. There was no doubt about his technical ability. That was there for everyone to see. But he needed to power himself up, make himself more physical - and I think he is doing it out there with Roma.”
Nevin also believes that Abraham will return to the Premier League in the not too distant future after refining and honing his craft in Italy. The Roma striker is likely to be linked with a move back to England in the summer if he continues his stunning form until the end of the campaign.
He added: “I would not be surprised if eventually Tammy wants to come back to the Premier League after this spell in Italy. And he will come back a better player and a more rounded person. He has worked under Jose Mourinho out in Rome, and most top strikers who have worked under him love him. Ask Drogba. Tammy is learning that right now.
“I am not surprised Tammy has done so well out there. He is an intelligent boy. I watched some of his games when he was in the Chelsea academy and I marked him out as one to watch. To me at the time he was a more obvious success than Mason Mount or Reece James.
“He is not the same kind of player as Romelu Lukaku - who battered in the goals in Serie A just like Tammy. But I do think scoring goals is easier in Italy - which is why I think eventually, like Lukaku, Tammy will come back - to the best league.
“And it is so good for him that he is playing for a manager that believes in him in Mourinho - and a set of Roma fans that worship him right now. That is a huge boost for any player.”
