Imagine, for example, Chelsea had an English striker that will only be turning 24 next season. That striker, for various reasons, has spent the back end of the last two seasons on the bench. That striker finished last season as the highest goal scorer and is this season’s highest goal scorer. He has a top 10 goals per 90 number in the Premier League this season despite having only single digit minutes in the last few months. Now imagine that striker only costs £40 million.
That striker is obviously Tammy Abraham and that price tag is a joke. Chelsea may have already lost their chance with Abraham, but with such a low price they are basically giving a good player away. Simply put, if that is all Chelsea wants, there should be 19 Premier League teams at the table ready to lay that money down.
This goes beyond the current teams linked including Leicester, West Ham, and Brighton. Pretty much any team with 40m laying around will want a striker of Abraham’s quality in the league. There may be some concerns about getting him service at many clubs (and Abraham himself would likely avoid those clubs after Swansea), but those clubs will still have a go.
It is clubs like Leicester, West Ham, and others closer to breaking through than not that Chelsea needs to worry about. If Chelsea is foolish enough to entertain offers from teams like that, all they will be doing is strengthening a rival’s ability to finish in European spots. Maybe Chelsea has something big cooked up and plans on being in a top three of its own with Manchester City and Liverpool, but the best laid plans and all that.
Even the top six rivals should be interested at that price. Abraham being English is a big boost but also he has shown with minutes, he scores. In fact, he’s shown with minutes that others are able to score more freely as well. He might not be a starter at the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, or Manchester City, but he would certainly be an often called upon back up. More so than he has been at Chelsea this season.
Maybe Abraham doesn’t fit Tuchel’s tactics. He hasn’t been given much of a chance comparatively to show that or not but if the boss doesn’t have a place for that profile, he’s not going to make one. Even still, 40 million for a striker that has led Chelsea for two years? That’s bad business bordering on a bad joke.
Maybe the plan of the leak of 40 million is to bring the top six to the table and start a bidding war that makes West Ham and Leicester more weary. Otherwise it is just impossible to justify letting Abraham go to Premier League club for such a low price. Abroad? Maybe but there has been no indication that is on the cards.
Abraham scores goals. That’s been proven over two Premier League seasons now, even with him being in and out of the squad. Goals should rank up the price, but if Chelsea is only asking for 40 million, they are basically just trying to get him out of the way so he can stop making others look bad as he remains the top scorer.