Chelsea would give up on more than Tammy Abraham with January recall-sale

Rumors were swelling this week about Chelsea recalling one of their promising youngsters from his loan spell. Calling Tammy Abraham a youngster would be doing him a disservice, as he already has two England caps. But that’s the least of the problems with this idea.

Tammy Abraham has excelled at each of his loans so far. He arguably did well enough at Swansea in the Premier League, considering what a basket-case that club had become.

But that was not enough for the decision-makers at Chelsea, though. His “disastrous” Swansea loan earned him a demotion and he was farmed out to Aston Villa in the Championship. Abraham has already notched up 12 goals in 16 appearances for the Midlands club. Apart from other clubs, his form has also caught the eye of his parent club.

When a loanee does well, usually the parent club has a choice to make in mid-season. They can recall their player and use his abilities to bolster their own squad. Or, they could let him see out the season so as not to mess with his progress.

But there’s a third option, as Chelsea seem to have realized. Put on your helmets, folks, because we’re diving head-first into stupidity.

Apparently, Chelsea would like to recall Tammy Abraham from his loan spell. So far, so good, right? Chelsea are facing a striker shortage or, rather, a lack of strikers who can actually put the ball in the net. Tammy Abraham seems to know how to do that, so why not give him a go? That would be the sensible thing to do.

But Chelsea have rarely done the sensible thing in terms of their academy and youth players in recent times. Word on the street is Chelsea plan to recall Tammy Abraham and – get this – sell him to “get some money in the bank”.

Your head would be hurting right now if you didn’t put on a helmet, like I asked you to.

It is quite baffling how the club just flicks a switch to become financially prudent when all this time they’ve been acting like a hobo who won the lottery, blowing all their money on pills, pleasure and passion. Let’s not forget, this is the same club that spent 30 odd million pounds on Danny Drinkwater when they were the only club bidding for his services. This is also the club that spent another 30 million or so on a striker who barely featured for Chelsea, but has been on a tour of Europe ever since he unpacked his Spongebob suitcase in London.

So, let’s not kid ourselves that this is some sort of financial thing. It’s just another misadventure that this club – without a Director of Football, no less (editor’s note: 409 days – GP) – has embarked upon.

This is one of those moves that will have long-term ramifications not just for Chelsea and the future of Tammy Abraham as a top player elsewhere. It would demoralize those in the academy, who have the best seats in the house to watch this festival of feces. It effectively tells them that even a series of successful loans is no guarantee of playing for Chelsea. You’re just a commodity that the club can cash in on when they please.

Why would Callum Hudson-Odoi sign a new deal when he could be loaned out, then recalled and sold at a moment’s notice? Why would a young player sacrifice stability and steady progress for a bigger paycheck at this stage of his career? It makes no sense.

If the plan to recall Tammy Abraham has already been set in stone, then so be it. But let’s not be idiots and sell him right away. For all the time Abraham has spent in the Chelsea academy and the kind of impact he’s made at his loan clubs, the kid deserves a chance to lead the line for his parent club. There’s still half a season left to play.

Chelsea have tried Morata, they’ve tried Giroud and most recently have tried Hazard through the middle. If (when) Abrahama comes back, he should be given a run in the team and allowed to prove himself. Depending on whether he sinks or swims, the decision to keep or sell should be taken at the end of this season and not now.

It’s time for the club to put their money where their mouth is, and give youth a chance. What could possibly go wrong?