Rick Karsdorp hails Tammy Abraham for the ‘special’ Roma star’s hunger to improve in his lethal first season amid claims of a transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, via Gianluca Di Marzio.
Abraham has shone in Serie A since switching his seat on the Chelsea bench for the Stadio Olimpico last summer. The Giallorossi paid the Blues £34m for the England striker, who has already scored 23 goals in 40 games – including 15 after 29 Italian top-flight outings so far.
He only played 32 times across all competitions during his last year at Stamford Bridge and started just 18, too. Yet the 24-year-old left west London having scored 12 and assisted six goals over his 1,533 minutes. Jose Mourinho has fielded him for 3,174 minutes this season.
Hitting a rich vein of form in Serie A caught Gareth Southgate’s eye to warrant his England recall this season. The Athletic also report super-agent Jorge Mendes has approached the Roma forward in an attempt to sell him on a transfer to Tottenham to replace Harry Kane.
Mendes is working independently to drum up interest among Europe’s top forwards in a move to north London. Kane is a potential target for Manchester United this summer, and Mendes has a good working relationship with Spurs chiefs Daniel Levy and Fabio Paratici.
Karsdorp hails ‘special’ Abraham for Roma striker’s hunger amid Tottenham links
Tottenham will face a club-record fee to secure Abraham in a summer transfer from Roma, though. The Daily Mail note the Giallorossi slapped a staggering £100m asking price on the London-born ace. Clubs across Europe are also keeping a watch and considering bids.
Chelsea, additionally, cannot benefit from their buy-back clause this summer, as the £67m option is only active from next year. In the meantime, Abraham is showing Thomas Tuchel what he let leave in Italy and teammate Karsdorp hails their desire to improve each other.
“Tammy is really special,” Karsdorp said. “It’s great that he scored 23 goals in his first year in Rome. He’s a good guy, he’s nice. We’re close, and we confront each other every day.
“I’ve given him four assists so far but we can improve, we know that. There are still a few matches to be played and we hope to increase the number of assists from four to eight.”
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