Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has said that the club’s loan system has helped him to develop into the striker that he is today. The youngster has developed into a quality striker this season and has had a breakthrough year.
He has taken full advantage of the opportunities which have been handed to him as a result of Chelsea’s two-window transfer ban. He has so far scored 11 times in the top-flight and will be among the candidates for the Golden Boot Award this season.
“It was part of my journey,” he told the club’s website. “I knew I wasn’t ready for the Chelsea first team at 17, 18, 19 years old so to go out there and experience men’s football, learn different traits and add stuff to my game was really important for me.
“Bristol City [his first loan] was hard, moving away from home for the first time, but I needed it.
“I needed to experience what men’s football was like and going out there into the big, wide, scary world was probably one of the best things at the time for me.
“You get to learn about the dark arts. There are things defenders do like little nudges or pinches in the back. At first, I was thinking “what are you guys doing?” but when I scored it lifted me even more.“
Abraham’s first loan spell was with Bristol City in the Championship during the 2016/17 season. It was during this time that he initially rose to prominence and showcased his potential as he went on to score 23 times from 41 second-tier appearances for the Robins.
The following season was less than successful for him. He was loaned out to then Premier League side Swansea but failed to make much of an impact as he scored just five times from 31 top-flight appearances.
Abraham then went back to the Championship and spent time with Aston Villa on loan last season. This deal helped him to regain confidence as he scored 25 goals from just 37 League appearances to help Dean Smith’s side return to the Premier League after an absence of three years.
Interestingly, Abraham probably would have not been included in the Blues first-team plans for this season had it not been for the club’s two-window transfer ban. They probably would have brought in a more experienced marksman to replace Alvaro Morata this season if they had the opportunity to do so.
