Tammy Abraham has hailed Jose Mourinho as the โbest manager in the worldโ and credited his boss for pushing him to โbe betterโ as he enjoys a stunning season at Roma.
Abraham joined Roma on a five-year deal worth ยฃ34million last summer after struggling to cement his place in Thomas Tuchelโs starting XI at Chelsea.
When asked whether Mourinhoโs role as the Roma manager encouraged him to sign for the club, Abraham told TalkSPORT: โIt [Mourinho] was a factor involved, yes.
โAs a young English lad I wanted to stay in England. Rome came along and Atalanta and many different teams around the world, I was telling myself I wanted to stay in the Premier League and that I had something to prove.
โBut my dad, parents and agent sat me down and said, โyou scored goals at Chelsea, Swansea and Bristol City, go and test the waters, go and experience life abroadโ.
โWhen they were speaking it kind of dawned on me that not many players can say theyโve gone out in Italy, to Serie A and a team like Rome.
โI never back down from a challenge so when this challenge came along I thought as Iโm still young this is the best time for me to go and do it.โ
Mourinho challenged Abraham to be โbetterโ for Roma despite the fact he scored a match-winning brace in their derby against Lazio recently.
โGreat performance,โ Mourinho told DAZN after Romaโs 3-0 win. โToday was really special because it seemed that everything we had planned was put on the field.
โLazio in the second half tried to play with pride but we never lost control. No doubt, the boys deserved the victory.
โWhen you say Abraham is fantastic, I disagree, he can do even more. I demand a lot of him because I know his potential, Iโm not talking about goals but he must play every game with this attitude.โ
Some players would have felt dejected following Mourinhoโs comments, but Abraham is using the remarks as motivation.
When asked about Mourinhoโs statement following Romaโs victory, Abraham said: โYou know Mourinhoโs a character that we all know.
โThereโs a reason why I call him the best manager in the world. He knows how to drive you, he knows how to get under your skin and he knows how to make you feel like a very special player at times.