Speaking on the latest episode of The Football Terrace’s The Done Deal Show, Pete O’Rourke offered an insight into Arsenal’s pursuit of Tammy Abraham.
For most of the summer, it has been West Ham United that have been linked with Abraham, however, once Chelsea’s £40 million price tag emerged, it became clear that the Hammers would struggle to meet that, as David Moyes himself admitted.
Should Tammy Abraham leave Chelsea?
Yes
No
Now, however, it seems like the Gunners are leading the chase to land Abraham, who would join other young signings such as Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares and soon-to-be new centre-back Ben White, which has signalled a clear transfer strategy from Mikel Arteta.
O’Rourke has given the lowdown on where the Gunners stand in their attempts to sign Abraham this summer.
“I think Abraham has now come around to the idea that he’s not going to play at Chelsea, he’s not in the long-term plans and I think he’s ready to move on as well.
“So the opportunities that are out there for him – West Ham, long-term admirers but are struggling to meet that £40 million fee.
“Arsenal have now come in and seemingly from nowhere, seem to be heading the race for Abraham. I think as an Arsenal fan, if you could get somebody like Tammy Abraham on loan with an obligation to buy, I think it’d be a good deal.
“Obviously changing the squad there at the Emirates, Mikel Arteta, and he’s looking at young English players with the deal for Ben White all agreed in principle.
“To get someone like Tammy Abraham in, who is a proven goalscorer – I think he’s still scored the most goals of any Chelsea player in the current squad, so he definitely knows how to find the back of the net and that’s been a problem for Arsenal, so it could be a great deal for Arsenal.”
TIF Thoughts on Arsenal targeting Abraham…
Abraham would obviously arrive with Premier League experience having already netted 26 goals in 89 top-flight games, but under new boss Thomas Tuchel, chances have become limited, with the striker being handed just three league starts since the German’s arrival.
Dean Jones has recently claimed that Alexandre Lacazette is someone that Arsenal feel ‘would be better off moved on‘, so it would make sense that Arteta replaces him with a Premier League striker with experience of leading the line for a top-six club that also has a whole lot of potential to fulfil.
It would be sensible to think that Arsenal will have to sell some players before moving for Abraham if they are wanting to splash a combined total of £80 million on White and Aaron Ramsdale without having brought any cash into the club via player sales this summer, so this deal may be some way off at present.