Lee Hendrie has said that Chelsea loanee Tammy Abraham has ‘so much potential’ and that Dean Smith should make him his number one transfer target this summer.
The 21-year-old striker has been an absolute revelation in the Championship, scoring 25 goals in 37 games and helping fire Aston Villa into the play-offs.
And, if they get promoted, Hendrie believes Smith must try and sign him on a permanent deal.
Talking on the Noel Whelan Show (BBC Radio Leeds, Friday, 6pm) Hendrie said, “I feel Tammy is one of those players, he’s been consistent in the Championship, and I feel in the right team he should be in the Premier League by a million miles for me.
“Wolves were desperate to sign him and he decided to stay, which shows how high a regard he holds the club in. I think if Aston Villa do go up he has to be their main transfer target in the summer. He fits the formation that Dean Smith plays and I just like his attitude. He’s got so much potential.”
OPINION
Abraham has been brilliant this season and the loan move to Villa was just what his career needed. He’s scored 11 goals since January and his decision to stay at Villa Park, instead of taking a lucrative move to Wolves, has blasted Villa into the play-offs. You’d think that Villa would need to get promoted to stand any chance of landing Abraham. He’s on £50k-a-week at Chelsea and they’re Premier League wages. Wolves were keen on him and he’ll want to play in the top-flight, so Villa could well be playing to keep him as well as winning promotion in the play-offs. Abraham has never proved himself in the Premier League but he’s still only 21 and he seems to be loving life at Aston Villa. Villa suffered heartbreak in the play-offs last season, though, and you have to worry about what will happen if they miss out again. They say the Championship is tough… the play-offs are even tougher.