Tammy Abraham was out of favour at Chelsea but he is delighted he made the move to AS Roma to link up with Jose Mourinho, AFP reports.
Tammy Abraham said to himself when he joined AS Roma from Chelsea last summer he would give his “blood, sweat and tears for this club”.
In keeping his promise he could be rewarded with European silverware next week. The 24-year-old England international striker’s nine goals have been pivotal in Roma’s passage to next Wednesday’s inaugural European Conference League final against Dutch side Feyenoord in Tirana.
With 25 in all competitions he has more than justified Roma coach Jose Mourinho’s decision to convince the board to shell out 40 million euros ($42 million) – not including bonuses – for him.
It brought to an end a disappointing final few months for the home-grown Chelsea player who fell out of favour with manager Thomas Tuchel when the German replaced Frank Lampard.
Abraham failed to make either the FA Cup final or Champions League final matchday squads under Tuchel. The German even selected two substitute goalkeepers for the European showpiece.
However, Abraham has put those setbacks firmly behind him and from the first day in Italy his attitude was one of positivity.
“For me since day one, as soon as I touched down in Rome, it made me feel like one of their own straight away,” he told AFP and another international press agency in an interview conducted at Roma’s training centre.“It was the love, the passion, the way they worked with me.
“I told myself, ‘I’ll give my blood, sweat, tears for this club,’ and it’s been an amazing year.”
Abraham’s impressive performances and the way he has adapted to a different lifestyle in a country where English players have not always flourished could well see him add to the 10 international caps he has accrued.
However, for the moment he is focused on bringing home Roma’s first silverware since the Italian Cup in 2008 and first European trophy since the old Fairs Cup – the predecessor to the UEFA/Europa League – back in 1961.
The Europa Conference may be in its first year and some may sniff at it being the poor man of the three European club competitions but Abraham said that mattered little to him.
“For me it’s not a little cup,” he said. “I believe every final is a final – no matter what competition it is.