Tammy Abraham joins Roma, managed by Jose Mourinho, from Chelsea for £34m; Arsenal were interested in the striker but Chelsea preferred to sell to a foreign club; 23-year-old England international fell out of favour at Stamford Bridge after Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard
Tuesday 17 August 2021 21:16, UK
Tammy Abraham has joined Roma from Chelsea on a five-year contract for £34m.
The 23-year-old England striker was Chelsea's joint-top goalscorer with 12 in all competitions last season but found first-team opportunities limited following the arrival of head coach Thomas Tuchel in January.
Champions League winners Chelsea re-signed Romelu Lukaku for a club-record £97.5m from Inter Milan on Thursday.
Chelsea have a £68m buyback option on their academy graduate, which can be triggered in the summer of 2023, while Abraham will wear the No 9 shirt at Roma.
"You can sense when a club really wants you - and Roma made their interest clear immediately," said Abraham.
"Roma is a club that deserves to be fighting for titles and trophies. I've had the experience of winning major trophies and I want to be in those competitions again - so I want to help this team to achieve that and get to the level where Roma should be.
"It's a massive honour to be the No. 9 at this club and I just can't wait to get started and to help the team."
Abraham, an unused substitute in Chelsea's Super Cup win against Villarreal in midweek and Premier League victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday, underwent a medical in Rome on Sunday.
Roma, managed by former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, open their Serie A campaign against Fiorentina at the Stadio Olympico on August 22.
Mourinho says signing Abraham is a "real coup" for Roma and has praised the England international for choosing a move away from the Premier League.
"I've known him since he was a boy. He's never played for me, because he was a 14-, 15-, 16-year-old boy when I was at Chelsea, but I know him very well," Mourinho told Roma's website.
"I know him as a person, a player and in terms of his mentality. I know how he made the decision to leave the Premier League, which is always tough for an English player.
"That tells me so much about him, because when you leave the Premier League, you do so because you're ambitious.
"You leave because you want to get back into your national team, because you want to play at the World Cup, because you want success outside of England, where not many English players have had brilliant careers.
"He comes here with that ambition and we hope to see his best qualities as a player."
Atalanta and Arsenal also expressed an interest in Abraham, but Chelsea's preference was always to sell him to a foreign club.
Tiago Pinto, Roma's general manager, said: "Despite still being very young, with a huge amount of potential to keep improving, Tammy has already played more than 200 games in his career and scored over 100 goals - and won a number of major trophies too.
"Choosing to leave the Premier League, and the club he grew up at, demonstrates very clearly just how much he believes in this opportunity to develop his own game and show what he can do at Roma.
"Bringing in players that have such a hunger and desire to play for our club is hugely important in helping to build the identity and sense of belonging that is a fundamental part of our overall vision for this team."
Abraham joined Chelsea's academy at the age of seven, and Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said his contributions will "never be forgotten".
"Tammy will always be welcomed back at Stamford Bridge as one of our own," Granovskaia said.
"We have all enjoyed watching his progress through our Academy and into the first-team squad, and are grateful for his contribution to our successes at senior and youth level.
"His many goals in a Chelsea shirt and, of course, his part in our Champions League triumph last season will never be forgotten. I'm sure all Chelsea supporters will join me in wishing Tammy a long and successful career."
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