CHELSEA’S FAME ACADEMY
Tammy Abraham fronting the band of kids who have come through the ranks and are finally hitting the right notes
Harry Kane was 21 in his breakthrough season at Tottenham, with a prolific youth career and a series of hit-and-miss loan spells behind him, before chancing upon a manager who was prepared to trust him in the colours he was meant to wear.
Kane had four to his name for the season when he scored his first Spurs hat-trick in a five-goal romp — and helped one into his own net in the same game having ended up in goal against asteras Tripoli. He never looked back and by the time his season ended he had scored 32 goals, including one on his england debut.
There are some interesting similarities with Tammy abraham’s pathway and every reason to believe Chelsea’s young centreforward can develop his brilliant
form into something to rival Kane in 2014-15 and beyond.
abraham is 21 and, when this season started there were doubts about his ability to step up to the Premier League despite his glut of goals at youth level and in the Championship. He had not seemed entirely at ease when thrown in with the first team, but where Kane had Mauricio Pochettino to mould him and advise him, abraham has encountered Frank Lampard: the right boss at the right time.
It might have been different. What if Maurizio Sarri was still at the helm? Or Max allegri had fancied the job? What if Gonzalo Higuain had somehow made his loan permanent? What if there was no transfer ban?
abraham scored his first Chelsea hat-trick on Saturday at Wolves as Lampard’s young team produced enough goals to ensure their leaky defence was irrelevant. He also diverted one into his own net with a hand, although it did not cause alarm in the 5-2 win.
as with Kane, the first thing the manager praised afterwards was the ‘attitude’ and his ‘desire’ to improve and his ‘ hunger’ for goals.
england manager Gareth Southgate will be aware of growing interest from nigeria in abraham, who has two england caps but none in competitive matches and can still switch allegiance to represent the nation where his father was born.
The young striker will make the decision when necessary. as with Kane, abraham finds himself in a young team evolving quickly. at Tottenham, Dele alli and eric Dier were fresh and fearless and making an impact.
at Chelsea, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori are making sparkling progress. Tomori, comfortable in Lampard’s back- three, opened the scoring at Wolves with a screamer.
Mount claimed the seventh of the game to ensure the first 11 goals of Chelsea’s Premier League campaign had all been scored by children of the revolution: abraham with seven, Mount three and Tomori one.
raised together in Chelsea’s acclaimed academy, on Saturday they were the last to leave the Molineux pitch — beaming with pride and abraham with the ball under his arm — having basked in an ovation from supporters who
have waited years for this. Some noted how it came on a day when Ray Wilkins, who was Chelsea captain as a teenager and who died last year, would have been 63.
The runaway success of this homegrown trio will encourage Lampard as he awaits the return of N’Golo Kante from injury and tinkers to tighten up at the back.
Tougher tests await — Wolves were far from last season’s best — and Chelsea’s senior players will be crucial at times. Lampard made a point of praising Willian’s tireless performance on his first start of the season.
There must be a temptation to rest younger players in the Champions League against Valencia tomorrow, with Liverpool next in the league on Sunday, but they are in such terrific form it will be difficult to leave any of them out and risk losing momentum.
‘I won’t consider age,’ Lampard insisted when asked if Europe’s toughest competition was a place for older heads. ‘The lads have shown confidence, personality and they are in the group. So that’s easy. Age is put to the side now. I’ll just pick on merit.’
Abraham was replaced by Michy Batshuayi in the 77th minute, but it was only because he was suffering with cramp. ‘Probably a bit of excitement with his hat-trick and the energy he used up,’ Lampard said. ‘The comforting thing was to look at the bench and see options, especially in attacking areas, and we still have major injuries.’
Callum Hudson-Odoi and Reece James played for Chelsea’s under23s on Friday. The Carabao Cup third-round tie against Grimsby on Wednesday week had been earmarked for a possible first-team return, though Hudson-Odoi might force his way into the squad sooner.
When he suffered a serious Achilles’ tendon injury in April, the 18year-old was in the process of running down his contract, hankering after a move to Bayern Munich. Five months on and he is about to sign a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge.
The Chelsea manager and his coaching team made time to share a few beers with Neil Bath and his academy staff during the international break. ‘It’s important the club is joined up,’ Lampard said.
It feels like a connection has been made. Abraham has been among the first to seize on it. Like Kane, he has a good eye for a chance.