Abraham eyes Europe after gaining reward for sacrifice
Hat-trick scorer wants Champions League high Striker shines as Wolves suffer in heavy 5-2 defeat
Tammy Abraham is “living the dream” and setting his sights on becoming a club legend after finally being given his chance in a Chelsea shirt.
Five games into the Premier League season, Abraham is already the joint leading scorer and became the youngest Chelsea player to hit a hat-trick with his wonderful treble against Wolves, breaking a record previously held by Eden Hazard, as Chelsea won 5-2 at Molineux.
He has been out on loan at Bristol City, Swansea City and Aston Villa, and must have wondered if the opportunity at Stamford Bridge would arrive, but his impact so far has been spectacular.
The 21-year-old is now targeting a goal in the Champions League as the next box to tick as he bids to follow in the footsteps of the club’s golden generation. “I have grown up watching big stars playing in the Champions League and to play in it myself would obviously be a dream,” he said, clutching the matchball from Saturday’s game under his arm.
“Players like the gaffer [Frank Lampard], Didier Drogba and John Terry are great legends. They have been there and done it. I would like to follow the same path.
“I am delighted to be scoring goals for a team I have grown up loving and have always wanted to play for.
“It is just an amazing feeling and hasn’t kicked in yet. Hopefully this is the beginning of a great career at Chelsea. I’m living the dream and I need to keep it running.”
Abraham’s three goals all showed signs of a predatory centre-forward – a close-range poacher’s finish, a powerful header and a fine solo effort to round off another excellent afternoon for Chelsea’s young players. Chelsea had taken the lead through defender Fikayo Tomori, with a 25-yard stunner, before the outstanding Mason Mount added the fifth in added time.
“It’s great doing it with your mates,” said Abraham. “We have scored 11 goals and they have all been from English academy players. We are all delighted. The manager believes in us. We just have to keep taking our chances.”
Abraham’s start to the season will inevitably lead to calls for his elevation to the England senior squad, which could leave him facing a dilemma. Although he has appeared for England in a friendly, Nigeria are very keen on recruiting Abraham as he is eligible to play for them through parentage.
He appeared to leave the door open when asked about Nigeria’s interest after Saturday’s game: “I have heard the talks and I’ve not really been focused on that yet. You can never say never. It is about focusing on Chelsea and hopefully scoring goals and getting victories.”
There will soon be further good news for Chelsea with winger Callum Hudson-odoi set to sign his new five-year contract. Frank Lampard has also revealed that Hudson-odoi is close to making his first-team return after an Achilles injury.
While Chelsea are now preparing for tomorrow’s game against Valencia, Wolves are under scrutiny after a desperately poor performance on the day of Molineux’s 130th anniversary. The home team did respond late on through an Abraham own goal and a closerange finish from substitute Patrick Cutrone, but were 4-0 down after 55 minutes.
This was Wolves’ first home defeat since January and their heaviest since March 2012, when they were thrashed 5-0 by Manchester United in their relegation season.
It may be early days, but it has been a disjointed start for Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad, who face Braga in their first Europa League group game on Thursday.
Conor Coady, the captain, said: “We’ve got to look at the way we’re doing things as much as possible because it’s not good enough. There are standards we have set.
“We’re giving teams too much space. We go behind and we’re chasing it so it’s important that we do that better.”