‘I FEEL WANTED’
CHELSEA OUTCAST ABRAHAM PRAISES ROMA AFTER £35M SERIE A SWITCH
TAMMY ABRAHAM admitted Roma’s determination to sign him from Chelsea helped convince him to agree to a £35million move to the Serie A club.
The England international was always likely to be on the move after Chelsea paid £97.5m for Romelu Lukaku last week and Abraham – who was also linked with Aston Villa and Arsenal – ultimately chose to team up with former Blues boss Jose Mourinho at the Stadio Olimpico.
Even before Lukaku’s arrival, Abraham’s future at Chelsea had appeared bleak, with the 23-yearold out in the cold under Thomas Tuchel, having barely featured since the German’s arrival as coach at Stamford Bridge.
And Abraham, who will wear the No.9 shirt, said: ‘You can sense when a club really wants you – and Roma made their interest clear immediately.
‘Roma is a club that deserves to be fighting for titles and trophies. I’ve had the experience of winning major trophies and I want to be in those competitions again –
so I want to help this team to achieve that and get to the level where Roma should be.
‘It’s a massive honour to be the number nine at this club and I just can’t wait to get started and to help the team.’
The former Bristol City, Swan
sea and Aston Villa loanee has signed a five-year deal with the Italians and departs European champions Chelsea having scored 30 goals in 82 appearances after coming through their academy.
Roma are confident there is plenty more to come from Abraham. ‘Despite still being very young, with a huge amount of potential to keep improving, Tammy has already played more than 200 games in his career and scored over 100 goals – and won a number of major trophies too,’ Roma’s general manager Tiago Pinto said.
‘Choosing to leave the Premier League, and the club he grew up at, demonstrates very clearly just how much he believes in this opportunity to develop his own game and show what he can do at here at Roma.
‘Bringing in players that have such a hunger and desire to play for our club is hugely important in helping to build the identity and sense of belonging that is a fundamental part of our overall vision for this team.’
Abraham takes the No.9 shirt vacated by Edin Dzeko – who has moved to Inter MIlan as Lukaku’s replacement – and will link up with England international defender Chris Smalling in the Italian capital.
Mourinho’s men kick off their Serie A campaign at home to Fiorentina on Sunday.