Tammy Abraham helped guide Roma to the club's first trophy in 14 years on Wednesday night as the Italian giants beat Feyenoord 1-0 in the Europa Conference League final in Albania. The former Chelsea striker has enjoyed a rich vein of form since swapping Stamford Bridge for Stadio Olimpico, relishing the stewardship of Jose Mourinho.
The 24-year-old featured 53 times for Roma across all competitions this season, directly contributing towards 32 goals. His impressive displays have seen him find the net more than any other English striker in a Serie A season ever.
With the help of the former Chelsea boss, Abraham has flourished in Italy and left the Blues to rue his departure. The Cobham graduate has admitted that Mourinho has been key towards his evolution into one of Europe's most dangerous No. 9s.
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Asked in November what Mourinho had taught him at Roma so far, Abraham replied: "Just be a monster really! I think one of the things he said was I was too much of a nice player and that you have to show that aggressiveness as you're getting older as a striker.
"It's not always about being nice on the pitch. You need that character, you need that presence to frighten defenders and I think that's something I'm learning and getting better at."
Abraham's admission has remained true, as proven in the Europa Conference League final when he followed in the footsteps of David Luiz and that iconic moment against Manchester United in 2013. In an excellent target man-like manner, the former Chelsea striker held up the ball, took the sting out of Feyenoord's momentum and waited for the cavalry to arrive.
But, with the Dutch side eager to pile on the pressure in the dying embers, Abraham was bundled to the ground by opposition centre-half Marcos Sensei. With his back to the referee, the England international fell, held his shin and winked at the Roma bench.
Though not a No. 9 of course, Luiz did something similar at Stamford Bridge nine years ago when Rafael lashed out at his fellow countryman for protecting the ball by the corner flag. So, as the saying (sort of) goes, you can take the player out of west London, but you can't take west London out of the player.
