After watching Aston Villa this season, you wouldn’t think they’re in need of a new centre-forward.
Ollie Watkins has shone at Villa Park, netting 14 goals in 34 games while also recording four assists following a £28 million move from Brentford.
However, if reports are true, Dean Smith has his eye on another striker, one who is a familiar face around this part of the Midlands – Tammy Abraham.
The 23-year-old has done well for Chelsea this season, scoring 12 goals in 31 appearances to become their top scorer this term.
Despite that, Thomas Tuchel hasn’t fancied him since he replaced Frank Lampard at the helm, preferring to play Timo Werner instead.
Now, The Telegraph are reporting that Chelsea would let Abraham leave for £40 million, with TEAMtalk revealing Villa would like him back.
The 6-cap England international absolutely shone at Villa Park when on loan in the 2018/19 campaign.
Abraham bagged 26 goals in 40 Championship appearances to fire the Villans to promotion, and he clearly made a big impression on Smith.
As quoted by Sky Sports, the 50-year-old called Abraham a ‘fine player’ after he scored the only goal in Smith’s first game in charge of Villa, a 1-0 win over Swansea in October 2018.
“Tammy is a handful and he knows better than me that he should have been walking away with the match ball. Tammy put in a hell of shift up front on his own and proved that he is a fine player.”
In our view, signing Abraham could well put Aston Villa into Europe.
A frontline of Abraham and Watkins, buzzing around up top while Jack Grealish pulls strings behind them, would cause issues for many backlines.
£40 million is a bit steep, but at 23 years of age, it would be a fine long-term investment for the Villans.
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