Jose told me to leave rainy UK for Rome’s sunny delights
IF YOU CAN’T BEAT THEM, JOIN THEIR CLUBS. AFTER ENGLAND WERE PIPPED BY ITALY AT THE EUROS, TWO RISING THREE LIONS STARS HAVE MADE SERIE A THEIR HOME IN AN EFFORT TO CLAIM A WORLD CUP SPOT ABRAHAM FEELING WARMTH OF MOUR’S TRUST
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TAMMY ABRAHAM has revealed how Jose Mourinho made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
And after taking him up on it, ambitious Abraham is now back in the England squad and determined to one day be remembered as one of the game’s greatest strikers.
The 24-year-old’s career was going backwards fast last season after getting frozen out under Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel.
But when Mourinho called to offer him an escape route with Roma in Serie A, the Portuguese had one simple message that has transformed Abraham’s career.
Abraham said: “I picked up the phone and the first thing he said was, ‘Do you want to enjoy some sun or stay in the rain?’”
It’s a safe bet Mourinho wasn’t only talking about the weather in Italy.
And after four goals and three assists in nine games for Roma, Abraham is well and truly back in the light after earning his first England call-up since November 2020.
He said: “I laughed. At first I did not think much of it when we were speaking. My mindset was that I wanted to stay in the Premier League.
“It was home, being around London and England. I had to open my wings a bit and make a choice. I chose Italy and would not change it.
“Jose is a brilliant salesman. When he speaks, you listen. He is a good man and has helped me a lot so far and hopefully we can build on it.
“I have learned so much tactically – as much as I have in my entire lifetime! It is good. You need to learn off different managers. Right now I am learning a lot.”
Abraham (inset, with Mourinho) was given his shot at nailing down the starting striker spot at Chelsea by Frank Lampard but quickly lost his way under Tuchel.
He didn’t even make the squad for their Champions League Final triumph over Manchester City and lost his England place to Dominic Calvert-lewin.
Now, though, he feels he finally has a chance to be the main man again under a manager who trusts him – and is determined to make the most of it.
Abraham said: “I want to be in the names of the best strikers in the world, when they’re ranking the strikers. That’s my aim and I won’t stop until I’m there.
“It was tough, but I think things like this need to happen for you to understand the game.
“You can’t just always be on the up, you need some downs sometimes.
“I think those downs have really lifted me and pushed me to be hungry for more.
“You’ve gone from playing regularly to not being in the mix and not even making the bench sometimes.
“I got to a point where I had to sit down and talk to myself.
“It’s easy to throw a strop, be angry around the place, to be a bad egg. For me, it was the opposite. I learned about myself and I think that strengthened my mindset.
“I’ve always told myself that no matter how good I get, I can always get better. I think after my career I can sit back and look at the things that I’ve done.
“And I want to be able to say I’ve done everything I can, I’ve left it all out there, I’ve worked as hard as I could.”