Chelsea proven right selling struggling Abraham for €40m
Carlo Garganese
- 2 Nov 2021 14:31 GMT
- 4 min read
Chelsea have rarely got it wrong in the transfer market over the past few years with director Marina Granovskaia proving to be a master when it comes to buying, selling and keeping the books balanced.
The latest example of shrewd business looks like being the decision to sell Tammy Abraham to Roma this past summer for €40m (£36m).
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This sale upset a lot of Chelsea fans, who believed that with time and opportunities the academy product would have become the club’s first-choice number nine.
However, so far Tammy has done little to show that Chelsea will regret selling him.
How many goals has Tammy Abraham scored for Roma?
In 11 Serie A games, the 24-year-old has scored only two goals – a return that is clearly not good enough given how much Roma paid for him. He also has two assists, both of which came on the first day of the season.
His last goal for Roma was almost six weeks ago – and both of his strikes came against lowly opposition in Salernitana and Udinese.
My Team 🟡🔴 have a goodnight. See you Sunday. Forza Roma! pic.twitter.com/ZxOJJTKtp8
— Tammy Abraham (@tammyabraham) September 23, 2021
Abraham does have two goals in four matches in the UEFA Europa Conference League but once again these were against very lowly opposition in CSKA Sofia and Zorya.
As he was sometimes accused of at Chelsea, Abraham has struggled when playing against the top teams and elite defenders.
He was the worst player on the pitch in Roma’s derby defeat to Lazio, hit another blank in the loss to Juventus and missed a sitter in the goalless draw with Napoli.
In Sunday’s 2-1 home loss to Milan, Tammy was subbed off after being marked out of the game by Simon Kjaer. There were even a few boos from fans.
As has been the case in every season of his career, he is under-performing his xG – this time by 2.53 goals.
Will Abraham be a success at Roma?
One thing Tammy doesn’t lack is personality and belief. His performances have by no means been poor, even if he has clearly dipped since the October international break when he actually scored for England against Andorra in World Cup qualifying.
He is only 24, he is playing in a new league, a new country and in a team that is a work in progress under new manager Jose Mourinho, having spent heavily in the summer.
But for a player who cost €40m, clearly his goal return is not acceptable.
Dreams do come true 💙 Champions Of Europe! pic.twitter.com/VoUDHL9bFs
— Tammy Abraham (@tammyabraham) May 29, 2021
Roma started the season excellently by winning their first six matches in all competitions.
Since then, though, the Giallorossi have been wildly inconsistent and they have won just one of their last five matches. This sequence has seen three defeats, including the humiliating 6-1 hammering by Bodo Glimt in Norway.
Nevertheless, Roma still find themselves in fourth position in Serie A. If they were to finish the season in this position it would be acceptable.
But if Roma are to achieve that and then push on to challenge for major honours then they need their big summer signing to start shining.
As for Chelsea, it looks like another successful deal for them. And even if Tammy does take off in the Eternal City, the Blues still have a £68m buyback clause that they can execute. In other words, Chelsea can’t lose.
