Tammy Abraham is currently weighing up his Stamford Bridge future after the Serie A side agreed a £34m deal to sign the striker; however, should Roma turn their attention to Iheanacho, any move is likely to command a large fee as the player signed a new three-year deal in April.
Friday 13 August 2021 13:16, UK
Roma are considering making an offer for Kelechi Iheanacho if they fail to sign Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham.
Abraham is currently weighing up his Stamford Bridge future after the Serie A side agreed a £34m deal to sign the striker.
The 23-year-old has asked for time to consider the offer from the Italian club, who are managed by former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, with Roma general manager Tiago Pinto meeting Abraham for talks in London on Thursday.
However, should Roma turn their attention to Iheanacho, any move is likely to command a large fee as the player signed a new three-year Leicester City contract in April.
Fellow Serie A side Atalanta and Arsenal are also interested in Abraham, but Chelsea's preference is to sell him to a foreign club, making a move to their London rivals less likely.
A source close to the negotiations has told Sky Sports News there is a determination from Roma to conclude a deal and talks are ongoing.
Abraham fell out of favour at Chelsea midway through last season as Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard as head coach and was left out of the squad for May's Champions League final, despite being fully fit.
The arrival of Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan is set to push Abraham further down the pecking order and all but end the possibility of him staying at Stamford Bridge.
Despite his limited game-time during the second half of last season, Abraham ended the campaign as Chelsea's joint-top scorer with 12 goals.
Mourinho was in charge at Stamford Bridge as Abraham was coming through the Chelsea academy, but the forward did not make his first senior appearance for the Blues until after the Portuguese had left the club.
Abraham's form for Chelsea under Lampard saw him feature for England in Euro 2020 qualifying and in their most recent Nations League campaign but, after a lack of playing time under Tuchel, he drifted out of Gareth Southgate's plans in the months before this summer's tournament.
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has accepted some responsibility for Tammy Abraham's lack of opportunities last season as the striker's future at Stamford Bridge lies in the balance.
Although Tuchel refused to directly address Roma's offer during his press conference ahead of the Super Cup final, the head coach said: "Tammy is right now in the squad. He did some good preparation matches.
"He was clearly not happy with the last half a year and maybe he has reason also not to be happy and maybe it was also my fault not to push him, not to trust him on the same level I maybe trusted other players.
"I can absolutely understand that he wants more minutes. So the decision will be 'how do we plan, what are Tammy's plans, does he fight his way back into the team from the position where he ended last season or does he want to change club to have the chance of being a regular starter?'"
You can follow all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms, as well as keeping track of all the developments on Sky Sports News.
