Back on Tuesday, Swansea City confirmed the signing of Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham on a season-long loan deal.
The England U21 international, who was also linked with moves to newly promoted sides Newcastle United and Brighton and Hove Albion, believes Swansea’s style of play will enable him to build on his impressive loan spell for Championship outfit Bristol City:
“I enjoyed my time at Bristol City last season, playing regular first-team football and scoring goals. Hopefully, I can do the same at Swansea… I know it was a difficult season for them at times, but you could see that they always try and play nice football. That was a major factor in me joining Swansea. When teams play good football, it tends to create chances for the striker. Then it’s up to me to get myself in good positions and hopefully score some goals.”
The History
Abraham joined Chelsea at the age of seven and progressed all the way through the club’s academy system.
He was part of the side that won back-to-back UEFA Youth League and FA Youth Cup titles in 2015 and 2016 and was handed his Premier League debut by Guus Hiddink against Liverpool in May 2016, featuring as a late substitute.
The young striker appeared off the bench the following week against Leicester City before the Blues decided to send him out on a season-long loan to Championship side Bristol City for the 2016/17 campaign.
Abraham enjoyed a hugely successful season in the second tier, registering 23 goals and four assists in 41 league appearances in a team that could only finish 17th in the Championship.
Capped by England at U18 and U19 levels, managing seven goals in 19 matches, Abraham progressed to the U21s over the past year, and was part of the squad that reached the semi-finals of the UEFA European U21 Championship.
He scored his third goal for the U21s in the 2-2 draw semi-final against Germany, although he did miss in the penalty shootout.
The Prospects
While Fernando Llorente and Jordan Ayew struck up a strong partnership during the run-in last season, the failure of club-record signing Borja Baston made the need for Paul Clement to bolster his striking options pretty obvious.
Borja has since completed a season-long loan move to Malaga.
Abraham, who will link up with his new team-mates during the pre-season tour of America, will therefore compete with Llorente, Ayew and Oliver McBurnie for a starting berth.
For the final five matches of last season, Clement decided to play with two forwards in front of a midfield diamond, with Ayew’s pace, work rate and ability to drift to either flank perfectly suited alongside target man Llorente.
Providing the Spaniard is fully fit for the opening day trip to Southampton, after fracturing a bone in his lower arm in a cycling accident, he looks certain to occupy one of the two forward spots, with Abraham then likely to compete with Ayew for the other position.
Speaking about the forward options Clement now has available to him, the Swansea head coach revealed how they could be used in a number of different roles and systems:
“We have Tammy, Fernando Llorente, Jordan Ayew and Oli McBurnie. They are our four out-and-out strikers. I see all those players as being able to play down the middle on their own, or they can be paired up and in some cases play one behind another one.”
Like Ayew, Abraham boasts plenty of pace, is capable of getting in behind defences, and also has the ability to drift into the channels, although perhaps not quite as willingly as the Ghanaian.
It’s in the penalty area though, as Clement himself mentioned, where Abraham comes alive and looks to have the edge.
As Adi Viveash, one of the 19-year-old’s youth coaches at Chelsea stated, Abraham has shown his ability to time his runs into the box perfectly and has the composure and predatory instincts to find the back of the net on a regular basis.
But as this report suggests, Abraham also has similar traits to Ayew in terms of his willingness to track back and do his defensive work, which is important given Llorente’s limited mobility.
Abraham is also a good passer, and while his wiry frame means he needs to continue bulking up, his hold up does appear to be improving, with former England striker Alan Smith praising that part of his game during this summer’s tournament.
Looking at Abraham’s underlying statistics from last season, he averaged a shot every 30.86 minutes, bettering both Llorente (47.19) and Ayew (72.08).
Although he played in the second tier of English football, he did feature in a side that struggled in the Championship, with Llorente and Ayew, following his arrival in the January transfer window, part of a similar situation at Swansea.
What the numbers do suggest – certainly in comparison to Ayew – is that Abraham should offer a greater goal threat, despite the fact he’ll have to prove himself at a higher level.
That could mean that he is handed a higher price tag than the Ghana international, with Abraham perhaps in line to set us back 6.0 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Swansea’s schedule over the opening six Gameweeks (sot, MUN, cpl, NEW, tot, WAT) is fairly mixed, although a run of kind home fixtures through September, October and November means that their Fantasy assets might just be slow burners.
The challenge for Abraham initially will be to impress during pre-season, with Clement likely to favour Llorente and Ayew from the off following their end of season form.
But should Abraham impose himself early on, there’s every chance he could push for a starting berth, and become a viable budget forward option.
That’s on the proviso that Clement continues to play with two forwards though, with a switch back to the 4-3-3 system he favoured during the start of his reign at the Liberty Stadium likely to limit Abraham’s prospects.
There’s also another factor – ironically Chelsea’s reported interest in Llorente.
Having been courted as back-up to Diego Costa last season, reports now indicate that the Blues are stepping up their pursuit of Llorente once again. However, in the light of the announcement of Manchester United’s accepted bid for Romelu Lukaku, it remains to be seen if there is any real substance to those claims. Antonio Conte will surely be assessing other targets to bolster the Chelsea frontline.
A departure for Llorente would be a game changer for Abraham’s prospects. Although, again, it would likely result in Clement going back into the market.
Abraham is certainly highly thought of at his parent club, having just signed a new five-year contract with the champions, so he’ll be expected to continue his development in South Wales. It remains to be seen how much pitch time he will enjoy and, when it arrives, whether he can snap up the opportunities that come his way.
The young striker should have the confidence to kick on in a side that will supply ample service into the box. If he can command a regular starting role, his goalscoring record and potential price tag suggest that he could be a factor in our seasons. But, as it stands, he will have to fight to earn the position.
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