While his Roma side may have failed to qualify for the Champions League for a fourth straight season due to their sixth-placed finish in Serie A, England striker Tammy Abraham has exceeded all expectations after his move from Stamford Bridge last summer.
With a brace in Roma’s final league fixture this season against Torino, the 24-year-old London-born finisher netted his 16th and 17th Serie A goals respectively, breaking the single-season record for most goals scored by an Englishman in the Italian top-flight set by Gerry Hitchens back in 1961/62 for Inter Milan.
Attention now swiftly turns to the club’s Europa Conference League final versus Feyenoord in Tirana though, as Abraham is widely tipped to add to his nine-goal tally in the competition and spearhead Roma success on the night.
1⃣7⃣ goals in Serie A. 🇮🇹
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) May 20, 2022
A new all-time record for an English player in a single season in Italy. 🏴
Just Tammy being Tammy. 👏#ASRoma | @tammyabraham pic.twitter.com/wQAiqwuy6U
How does Abraham compare to other English strikers this season?
Abraham is currently the joint-highest English goalscorer across the top-five leagues in Europe alongside Tottenham’s Harry Kane, although Wednesday's showpiece will give him the chance to move in front of the Spurs marksman.
Each man has struck 17 times in league action and on 27 occasions across all competitions this term.
Abraham is so much more than just a goalscorer though, and throughout this season in Italy, Roma fans have seen the very best of the forward in all aspects.
Keen to move into the space behind the opposition’s backline at all times, the English forward enjoys latching onto through balls as aided by his natural pace and clever decision making.
That ability alone is something that should make him the ideal number-two striker behind Kane for England manager Gareth Southgate at the 2022 World Cup to give his side a completely different option when needed.
Abraham has also tightened up his first touch this season and worked on his ability to shift the ball away from defenders in order to create space for himself and teammates.
With four assists and 38 chances created in Serie A this term, his work rate, vision and technical ability highlight a striker who now holds the ability to create more opportunities for those around him.
Those attributes are key to highlight Abraham’s ability compared to England's other main attackers this season as illustrated below.
| League Stats (per 90 figures) | Tammy Abraham | Harry Kane | Dominic Calvert-Lewin | Marcus Rashford | Ollie Watkins |
| Goals | 17 (0.49) | 17 (0.47) | 5 (0.35) | 4 (0.29) | 11 (0.34) |
| Assists | 4 (0.12) | 9 (0.25) | 2 (0.14) | 2 (0.15) | 2 (0.06) |
| Chances Created | 38 (1.1) | 50 (1.39) | 10 (0.7) | 9 (0.66) | 35 (1.07) |
With a shot conversion rate of 17.89 percent in the league, Abraham has more importantly improved his finishing as seen through a number of instinctive finishes this season. That figure, for context, puts him ahead of players such as Lautaro Martinez and Victor Osimhen in Serie A.
On top of that, Abraham has had 186 touches in the opposition box this league campaign and also won 192 duels, the fourth-most of any striker in Italy’s top flight, as he begins to further excel as an all-round striker.
Do Chelsea have a buy-back clause?
Sold for a reported £34million in the summer of 2021, many were surprised when Abraham left Chelsea to join Jose Mourinho at Roma.
With vital funds needed to fuel a move for former star Romelu Lukaku, the frontman was moved on from Stamford Bridge to help make way for the Belgian’s return.
It’s relatively safe to say that few truly expected Abraham to outshine Lukaku as much as he has done this season across all competitions, especially given the Englishman’s need to adapt to a new culture and language on top of the expectation surrounding his big-money move to the Italian capital.
Given his success on the pitch, plenty of Chelsea fans are already voicing their desire at seeing him return to Stamford Bridge in the near future, though a buy-back clause agreed upon his departure won’t actually kick in until next summer.
That clause is reportedly valued at £68million as well, so in order for his return to come to fruition, players will need to be sold in the meantime to make way for a potential homecoming.
Which other clubs could sign Abraham this summer?
Arsenal
Aside from Chelsea, several other clubs have been linked with a move for Abraham this summer.
Perhaps the strongest link and most likely destination at present given the circumstances is Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal who are in desperate need of signing a stand-out number nine this upcoming summer.
Following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's departure for Barcelona in January, Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are out of contract next month. That means the Gunners could potentially be left with youngster Florian Balogun as their only recognised striker.
An Arsenal move could hinge on whether Abraham would be willing to accept less than Champions League football next season though, given the Gunners fifth-placed finish although given the 24-year-old grew up an Arsenal fan, perhaps UCL football wouldn’t prove too much of a stumbling block.
Manchester United
Another destination in England that could work well for Abraham given the circumstances this summer is Manchester United.
Much like Arsenal, United could find themselves short of attacking options, with Edison Cavani set to depart after an unsatisfactory second season at the club.
That leaves just Cristiano Ronaldo as a true recognised number nine under contract at Old Trafford past the end of this season.
With United reportedly ready to back new manager Erik ten Hag in the transfer market, finances are unlikely to prove a massive hindrance.
That said, the potential £68million price tag put on Abraham’s head by Roma could see United pull out of any potential move for the striker, especially given the need for an overall rebuild at the club beginning this transfer window.
Stay at Roma
Still the most likely outcome however would be for Abraham to extend his stay in Rome for the foreseeable future.
With the Englishman now likely considered as Southgate’s second-choice striker for the national team, another successful season in Serie A would surely act as a risk-free option when talking about Abraham’s inclusion in England’s World cup squad for Qatar.
On top of that and in the long term, an extended stay would give the forward more time to work with Mourinho who has so far got the very best out of the English striker during his time in Italy
Given the outstanding support that Abraham has received from Roma fans this season, it seems relatively likely that the 24-year-old striker will stay put this summer.
Tammy Abraham loves Roma ❤️ pic.twitter.com/JGP8hLk8rG
— GOAL (@goal) May 21, 2022
