Chelsea must reject Bristol City’s overtures for a Tammy Abraham loan

Chelsea FC academy forward and England international Tammy Abraham joined Chelsea for their pre-season tour in the United States. Will he return to Chelsea, or will the club send him on loan to Bristol City before the season is underway?

Somebody check Tammy Abraham’s return ticket from the pre-season tour. When the rest of the squad gets off the plane and heads to the team bus in London, Abraham might be dashing to catch his connecting flight to Bristol.

Bristol City finished 18th last year in their first season back in the Championship. The club aims to bolster their squad with Premier League-caliber talent, which would likely be in the form of a youngster on loan from a top club. Tammy Abraham is high on their wish list, coming off of strong performances at Euro U19 Championships and a stellar youth career at Chelsea.

Bristol likely – rightly – sees Chelsea as a juicy target to poach an academy grad on loan given Chelsea’s abundance of young talent and willingness (eagerness?) to mobilize a loan army. While Chelsea may be best known for seeding its youth around Europe at clubs like Vitesse Arnhem and Real Betis, Chelsea also has top prospects in the lower divisions of English football.

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Last week, Kasey Palmer moved to the Championship’s Huddersfield Town. Tomas Kalas arrived at Middlesbrough when they were in the Championship, and helped lead them into the Premier League. Mitchell Beeney is at League Two’s Crawley Town, while Nathan Ake remains in the Premier League at Bournemouth.

At 18 years old, Tammy Abraham has pretty well tapped out all he can gain from playing at levels starting with the letter “U.” Abraham has three FA Youth Cups, two UEFA Youth League titles, 18 youth caps for England and 72 goals in 101 Chelsea youth appearances. There is not much left for him to learn or accomplish at those levels.

With those credentials, though, and Antonio Conte’s plans for Abraham as evidenced by his presence on the tour, are Bristol City enough of a team for Tammy Abraham? Is the Championship enough of a league?

Bristol City has never played in the Premier League, coming closest with a loss in the playoff for the final spot in 2008. Barring a Leicester City-style progression, Tammy Abraham will not reach the Premier League with Bristol City.

Other Chelsea academy players of equal ability and potential to Abraham are loaned to first division teams in Europe. In leagues like Netherlands’ Eredivisie and Spain’s La Liga, the young Blues learn the pressure and expectations of top-tier football, and have the promise of qualifying for European competitions. These leagues may not have the depth and physicality of the Premier League, but they still carry the standards of first division football.

Related Story: Chelsea FC loans Nathan Ake and Mitchell Beeney, transfers Reece Mitchell

Andreas Christensen flourished at Borussia Monchengladbach, and next year will start in the qualifying round of the Champions League. Had he stayed with Chelsea, he would have neither the first team nor the Champions League experiences. That is the sort of experience Abraham needs to compete for a place at Chelsea.

The cautionary tale for Tammy Abraham is Tomas Kalas. Kalas joined Middlesbrough in the final 1.5 years of their steady march up the ranks of the Championship. He made 47 appearances for Middlesbrough, and was ready to accompany them onto the big stage.

Instead, Chelsea rewarded Kalas with a new loan back to another Championship side, Fulham. Kalas entertained making his Middlesbrough loan a permanent transfer even before their promotion, something he likely regrets not doing as he looks towards another second-tier season.

must read: Chelsea loan Tomas Kalas to Fulham, attitude not changing

Chelsea justifies its active loan policy by saying that it provides young players with necessary developmental experience that they would not get as substitutes or on the reserve team at Chelsea. This concept only works if Chelsea approaches loans as meticulously and individually as they do any other aspect of player development like conditioning, tactics and contracts.

Tammy Abraham requires more than just another loan to the Championship or Vitesse. An ill-considered loan will cause his development to plateau, and will embroil Chelsea in another embarrassing contract stand-off with a player who wants nothing more than to ascend to his childhood club’s highest level.

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Bristol City needs Tammy Abraham. Tammy Abraham does not need Bristol City. Chelsea FC must remember whose concern is their top priority.