When Tammy Abraham headed out to Roma last season, he managed to make a mockery of Thomas Tuchel and his goal-starved Chelsea side by scoring them for fun in Serie A.
With 17 goals and 5 assists in the league last term, the Cobham graduate was one of the Italian top-flight’s best strikers.
The 25-year-old had made such an impression for Jose Mourinho’s men that he seemed to be the guaranteed understudy to Harry Kane in subsequent England squads.
However, it’s safe to say that the Champions League winner’s redemption arc has come crashing down.
Abraham has registered a measly two goals in 11 league starts for Roma in the ongoing campaign, as he has been surprisingly bang out of form.
As a result, the once-prolific goalscorer has been excluded from the Three Lions’ 26-man squad for the upcoming World Cup, as confirmed on Thursday afternoon.
Questioned about why Gareth Southgate chose not to take Tammy Abraham as part of his ensemble to partake in football’s ultimate stage, he said, “Tammy’s [Abraham] has had a poor run of scoring form at the wrong time really.”
“And it’s not a case where we’re 3-4 weeks away from a [World Cup] final and the start of the first match. We’re now 10 days [away]. Form could be more important.”
Ultimately, it’s hard to disagree with the former Middlesborough boss’ rationale behind leaving Abraham at home, as he has been far from his productive best this season.
On the other hand, Callum Wilson, who will travel to Qatar as Harry Kane’s backup No.9 has been a consistent goalscorer for Newcastle United this season.
With Tammy Abraham not having the benefit of the doubt such as Harry Maguire does in an England shirt as well, it is no surprise to see him not make the cut for Qatar.
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