Tammy Abraham has admitted that Jack Grealish has changed him following Aston Villa spell

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Chelsea loanee Tammy Abraham and Jack Grealish played a huge part in Aston Villa’s return to the Premier League.

Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has admitted that his former Aston Villa teammate Jack Grealish has changed him and he has now learnt that he should never give up.

The 21-year-old spent a season-long loan at Villa during the recently concluded campaign as he helped the Midlands outfit earn promotion to the Premier League.

In January, Dean Smith’s side were heading into oblivion as Abraham’s future at the club came into question as he could have cut short his loan deal and headed to Wolves.

Abraham, who earns £50k-a-week at Chelsea [Spotrac], made reference to those Wolves talks and how Grealish never stopped ringing him during Villa’s difficult period because he ‘nearly gave up’.

“In the second half of the season, we knew we had to win almost every game to have a chance so we went out to every training session up for it,” Abraham told the Daily Mail. “There were times I nearly gave up but Jack would be in my ear.

‘When he was injured, he used to phone me telling me to keep it going for him until he got back because he believed he had a chance.

‘In January, all the Wolves stuff came out and it was something I looked at but I am so pleased I stuck with my gut instinct. Our attitude near the end was: ‘If we all turn up nobody else can beat us’. We need to show out that mentality out here. We need to impose that fear factor on others, make them frightened of us and leave everything on the pitch.”

In the end, the Villa Park faithful will be grateful that Abraham did listen to Grealish’s words because at the start of March when the playmaker returned to action it resulted in the team going on a 10-game winning run.

Abraham, who has since returned to Stamford Bridge, played a huge part in that success as he will now be looking to make a name for himself at Chelsea.

It remains to be seen whether the London club do give Abraham the chance to thrive in the first-team because if they don’t the Villa fans will be keen for their star striker to return to the club.