Tammy Abraham
Tammy Abraham (Image: AC Milan via Getty Images)
Leeds United, well placed to seal a return to the Premier League from the Championship at the second attempt this season, have been linked with a move for former Aston Villa striker Tammy Abraham in the summer transfer window.
Leeds are three points clear at the top of the second tier with 11 games to play and are five clear of third placed Burnley in the race for automatic promotion. They have scored 15 goals more than the next highest scoring team in the league, but while goals haven't been a problem this term attacking reinforcements in the summer are likely to be sought.
Abraham, proven in the top two tiers of English football, spent the 2018-19 season at Villa, on loan at Chelsea, scored 26 goals in what proved to be a promotion winning season; the forward netted four goals in a single game, the 5-5 draw with Nottingham Forest, and one against West Brom in the play-off semi-finals.
While Villa didn't pursue a permanent deal the following summer, Abraham ended up playing regularly in the top flight under Chelsea legend Frank Lampard who, defeated in the play-off final with Derby, returned to Stamford Bridge and utilised the striker to good effect. Abraham bagged 19 times for the Blues that following year.
He fell out of favour under Thomas Tuchel, though, and was sold to AS Roma in 2021 for £34m, where he worked under Jose Mourinho. Abraham has had to contend with his fair share of injury problems while out in Italy, and last summer he was loaned to Serie A counterparts AC Milan.
This term, Abraham has scored eight goals for Milan, with a couple in the Champions League, but the majority his appearances have come from the bench and it remains to be seen whether the ninth-placed Rossoneri will pursue a permanent deal in the future.
Abraham, 27, has only a single year left on his contract with Roma and a return to England, although one has never materialised since, has been on the cards in transfer windows in the past. Leeds could offer the forward a route back - although they'd need to, as is expected at this stage they will be, clinch promotion this season.
Speaking about Abraham on Instagram two years ago, his former Villa teammate and captain Jack Grealish said of the one-time England attacker: “Unbelievable. Couldn’t believe how good he was with the ball for how tall he is. Loved playing with him.”
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